LUCCA. It’s very hot. After all, it’s 1 p.m. on a July day. But it’s also lunchtime, so someone orders food through one of the available platforms. Going out? No way. On the street, under the sun, with his back against the wall and a bicycle beside him, there is a rider. He doesn’t take his eyes off the phone, waiting for one of those orders. He works on piecework and, if he wants to earn, he has to be as available as possible. And lunchtime is when he is called most often. Ergo, more deliveries. Like for dinner. The phone rings, he hops on the bike. But it’s hot. “In recent weeks we have become aware of about ten cases of heatstroke and heat exhaustion. These are the ones we know of; usually 80% of injuries are not reported,” says Paolo Puccinelli, provincial secretary of Nidil Cgil Lucca.
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The regional ordinance and its application limits
In the regional ordinance issued to deal with the heat, valid until August 31, it reads “about work activities in the agricultural and horticultural sectors, in open-air construction sites and quarries, in conditions of prolonged sun exposure.” In reality, riders would also be included since they work outdoors, but in practice nothing changes, assures the union. Also because lunchtime is one of the busiest working hours, and they work on piecework.
Difficult-to-apply regulations and entrenched exploitation
“These are regulations – confirms Puccinelli – that are difficult to enforce, there are no adequate forms of control and so it ends there, nothing happens. It has always been a problem to bring these figures to light as victims of scandalous situations of entrenched exploitation, agonizing in terms of pay and rights. Bringing this issue to attention is difficult on many levels. There is also the problem of representation: due to language barriers, it is difficult to express oneself and also to be understood. Then there is a lot of silence, out of fear of ending up in difficult situations.”
Riders in Lucca: different conditions, but common problems
This is a first element for the approximately 200 riders working in Lucca. Here the situation, explains the provincial secretary of Nidil, is a bit “more varied, in the sense that several work directly for bars, restaurants, venues, with better conditions.” Then, there are the others. “It is a subordinate job, poorly paid, with difficult conditions currently related to the heat: deliveries are made even at 35°.” And the riders, Puccinelli recalls, “work on piecework. They have no sick leave, no holidays. The more you work, the more you earn. The pay – explains the union official – can be as low as 3.50 euros per delivery, in other cases 5; some longer deliveries are paid more. It is complex to quantify how much one can earn per month, but it is also difficult to reach 600 euros.”
Endless waits and algorithms that decide the day
Then, he continues, “there are long waits between calls. So workers can spend entire hours in the heat, leaning and waiting for a call. Their day depends on algorithms.” And delivery times “are not long, ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, sometimes difficult to achieve. Some use a car, others a bicycle or scooter. And one thing – emphasizes Puccinelli – is moving around Lucca, another are the hilly areas or those of the Piana. As a union, we are trying to contact them. We have also made – the union official reports – a request for a Riders’ House, a place to meet, shelter, and take care of transportation means.”
Stress, lack of rest, and VAT number
On one hand, the work of riders is tiring; on the other “they almost never have the chance to rest,” adds Puccinelli. There is waiting, yes; the kind where you wait for a delivery to arrive. “You stand still, but – emphasizes the union official – you don’t earn, you get stressed because you wait for the call and you always have to be alert to catch it.” Moreover, “an aspect that is emerging widely, so it is more worrying, is the request to open a VAT number, with all the fiscal problems, in view of poorly paid work.” It depends on the distance, but “the minimum order is 3.77 euros, then taxed at 22%. However, there are also orders with higher compensation,” explains a young rider, who prefers to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions.
Riders’ testimonies: costs, fatigue, and precariousness
He started this job in 2020 and continued for a few years. Then he stopped, but recently started again. “At first I made deliveries by bike, then I started using the car and costs are much higher, due to the increase in gasoline prices,” he points out. Those who pedal don’t have these expenses, of course. But he still remembers what it meant to bring orders on a bike. “It was really tough. Mine – he says – wasn’t even electric, and anyway you face everything: heat, cold, rain.” He says he does this job “to make ends meet. Living off it is possible, but you have to work all day and with the bike, to reduce transport costs.”
The “veteran”: hours, earnings, and job limits
Another rider, now a “veteran,” sees some of his colleagues working all the time, every day, from morning to night. “Objectively – he explains – it is very tiring to start at 10 and finish at 11 p.m. We are on piecework, the more deliveries you do, the more you earn. These are choices, working a lot you make interesting amounts.” He, instead, decided differently: “I start working at 11:30 a.m. and go on until 1:30 or 2 p.m. Then I stop, also because I can’t take it anymore, and I start again around 6:30 p.m. until 8:30-9 p.m. I have fairly good hours. And continuing in other time slots in my opinion is not worth it, because there are really few deliveries.” He also manages to earn enough. “For me – he emphasizes – the flexibility this job offers is priceless, that’s why I chose it consciously.” Now, however, after several years, “I’m organizing to quit. You can do it while you’re young: you never have regular invoices, meaning you never know what might happen the next day. Without a contract, there is too much uncertainty.” In general, “the secret – he explains – is to understand the deliveries to be made to identify the most advantageous ones. The system encourages you to go like a rocket.”
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