One year after ‘equestrian law’: rebellion in a fading industry

For more than six months, the Department of Labor, employers and unions have been debating a law that sums up multiple sentences – including the Supreme Court – stating that digital distribution platforms are committing fraudulent acts by supporting fleets of ‘riders’. ‘ autonomous. From these conversations, he extracted a rule from a content page that stipulated: ‘apps’ had to hire deliverers as employees. This presumption of employment consisted of all companies in the industry except Glovo.

The ‘unicorn’ set in Barcelona’s Poblenou decides it wouldn’t change his model and that most of its fleet will continue to be self-employed. And it continues with the same model almost 365 days after the standard went into effect. A model that lets you show off competitive advantage Regarding the rest of the actors remaining in the Spanish market. Deliveroo is gone but Uber Eats, which has decided to take a similar path Glovo’s and Just Eat remained to discuss the cake. The problem with fake self-employed people is that they don’t have hands to distribute in their fleet as the Glovo model allows them to better pay the ‘riders’. them as freelancers.

“Should we follow the example of Glovo and work to compete on an equal footing with freelancers?” Courtney Tims, managing director of Uber Eats Spain, asked Yolanda Díaz, second vice president, last March. she asked. “One year ago great damage to competition free and fair”, Patrik Bergareche, managing director of Just Eat in Spain, at a meeting with journalists in June; As reported by ‘eldiario.es’.

Well, working with freelancers allows Glovo to have more deliverers – those who don’t order don’t have to pay – and that’s causing the yellow backpack company to go gain market share In the last year. At the expense of future sanctions that this may result from the Labor Inspection. But sanctions that have not been reported to him for months and that could delay payment by appeal for years.

And this Job Control doesn’t pedal at the same pace as Glovo and is currently concluding enforcement actions prior to the entry into force of the ‘Equestrian Act’. It most recently happened in the states of Girona, Tarragona and Lleida, where Glovo had to pay two million euros. As of September, you are expected to be aware of the minutes of the province of Barcelona. Sanctions of more than 50 million euros, and others will follow – for example in the Canary Islands, inspections are reported to ‘riders’ these days – which could add up to all amounts close to 100m euros. And the ‘job police’ Tighten sanctions for repetition and Glovo’s executives could face crimes against workers’ rights, he said, while the company continues to work with freelancers for now.

Ghost supermarkets in crisis

Enactment of the ‘equestrian law’, curbing international investment in the ‘delivery’ sector, unlike what his opponents baptized. Last year a few firms landed in Spain to get fat and compete for the home delivery cake, notably ghost supermarkets. Known as the ‘Dark Store’ in English, these companies make money by bringing the product purchased from the supermarket to the consumer’s home within minutes. To do this, they have a series of warehouses scattered around the city – ghost supermarkets – where the public doesn’t go in and serve ‘riders’ to load their packages.

Getir (Turkish capital), Gorillas (Germany), Rocket (Ukrainian), Dija (British) or Gopuff (American) set foot after the entry into force of the ‘Equestrian Law’ and they go as fast as they landafter failing to maintain adequate quotas of profitability and cutting off the tap of millions of dollars in investment internationally. Of these five companies mentioned, Getir continues to operate, but has laid off workers and hindered its expansion. Gorillas have closed a home of about 300 workers and are investigating how to leave Spain. Rocket and Dija have already sold their operations and Gopuff has cut 188 employees to shut it down. After deflating the ‘dark store’ bubble, it is Glovo, the actor who resists to sustain this entire market in addition to the food from the restaurants at home.