Greece: labour dispute win for delivery workers
The delivery service efood wanted to demote 115 delivery workers in Greece from fixed employee to freelancer status - or dismiss them altogether. Their protests met with a huge wave of social support: thousands of customers have uninstalled the company's app in recent weeks to exert pressure on the company. Now efood has announced plans to hire more than 2,000 delivery workers on permanent contracts. The media are thrilled.
A wave of wholesome, self-interested support
Documento explains why the protesters have received so much support from society:
“The efood workers have won a double victory. On the one hand they've obtained permanent work contracts and on the other their victory has an impact on society itself: a society that largely identifies with the efood workers. ... Thousands of workers all over the country stood by them, because most of them have to deal with the same (or perhaps even worse) conditions at their workplaces every day. So it's not only about efood as a company, but also about why the state allows hundreds of companies to operate the way this platform did.”
An instructive victory for the trade unions
Finally a real trade union movement has emerged, the left-wing daily Avgi rejoices:
“Thousands supported it. By definition, a class struggle is led by workers and not by professional trade unionists. Less than a week later, their struggle has brought results. ... This is not the collapse of capitalism, but we can note that similar companies that want to change their employees' working conditions will now think twice before doing so. In short, syndicalism and solidarity - online and in practice - are bringing results. The first real victory will of course be the fulfilment of the workers' demands in this particular company.”