Uber leaves Italy but the sentences follow it: 4 thousand illegal dismissals
According to the Labor Court which condemned Uber Eats, the dismissal of thousands of riders must be considered in accordance with the law on collective dismissals and delivery workers must be understood as subordinate workers
Of the eight thousand Riders who ran with Uber-branded backpacks, four thousand worked there permanently, fired overnight when the former startup decided to leave Italy . It is not possible, however, for a company with thousands of jobs to pack up and resolve relationships suddenly, without starting "the consultation procedure for the cessation of food delivery activities in the national territory". For this reason, all Uber's layoffs are now considered "illegitimate" and will be "revoked".
UBER'S DISMISSALS VIA E-MAIL ARE ILLEGITIMATE
This was established by the Labor Section of the Court of Milan. In the provision filed, the judge denounces "the anti-union nature of the conduct of Uber Eats Italy srl consisting in the omission of the consultation procedure for the cessation of food delivery activities in the national territory, terminating all employment relationships".
In short, the Labor Court did not like Uber's move to proceed with mass layoffs, which affected thousands of riders, via an email. The company was also condemned to publicize the existence of the provision to 4 thousand riders at its own expense by publishing it on its company website, on its social networks and in the main national newspapers.
The company's conduct, we read again in the decree, "is therefore anti-union for having completely omitted the union information required by law". The Court thus ordered Uber Eats "to revoke all withdrawals from the employment contracts of those who perform the service of riders" with an "active account on 14 June 2023". And to "initiate with the appellant trade unions" the "procedures and discussions foreseen in the event of cessation of activity", writes the judge, who framed the case with that of collective dismissals.
RIDERS ARE EMPLOYED WORKERS
Since these are "employee workers", writes the judge after having thus qualified the work activity of the riders also on the basis of recent jurisprudence, the company "had the obligation, before proceeding with the communication of withdrawals, to activate with the appellant trade union organizations the planned consultation procedures". The "existence of these information obligations" does not disappear "if one opts for the qualification of riders as hetero-organised collaborators".
THE UNIONS REJOICE
“It is an extraordinary result” the unions comment, reiterating that, on the basis of the provision, Uber not only sees the layoffs canceled but “will have to recall all riders to service and start a real discussion with the trade unions”.
For the first time, the unions underline, "it is significant that the regulation of the localization of multinationals is applied in Italy, which makes them responsible in the restructuring processes". And it is demonstrated, they conclude, "once again, that all the rights of employed workers must be applied to riders".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia-on-demand/uber-lascia-litalia-ma-le-sentenze-la-inseguono-illegittimi-4mila-licenziamenti/ on Fri, 29 Sep 2023 08:39:57 +0000.