Heatwave prompts Italian food‑delivery riders to strike over safety and wages
By Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor
Italy’s gig‑economy workforce has called a citywide strike this Wednesday as temperatures soar to 40 °C, demanding better protection against heat stress and fair pay. Riders working for Glovo, Deliveroo and other platforms have shut down operations in Milan, Bologna and Florence, and are preparing demonstrations in the city centres.
Milan officials have already limited bicycle deliveries between 12:30 and 16:00 until 23 September, but the trade union Nildil Cgil argues that the adjustments still leave workers exposed to the heat and cutting into earnings. The unions challenge companies and municipal authorities to provide water, rest breaks and measures that do not force riders to lose wages.
Similar demands echo across Europe, where a 2024 European Trade Union Institute study finds 130 million workers face heat stress, and other workers like Spanish food‑delivery riders and French teachers have also raised concerns amid the continent’s hottest August on record.
The strike could force platforms such as Glovo, JustEat and Deliveroo to rethink their scheduling protocols and safety provisions as the summer heat persists.
