The CGIL union said the Milan court ruling marks the “first
conviction” in Italy for crimes related to the exploitation of workers and the
outsourcing of labor among Uber’s contractors Eats.
Giuseppe Moltini, who ran a company that hired horse riders
on behalf of the delivery services giant, was sentenced to three years and
eight months.
However, he is unlikely to risk prison, as in Italy prison
sentences of less than four years do not usually lead to a prison sentence and
are not carried out if they can still be met. a call.
The Milan judge also ruled that most of the 500,000 euros
that had previously been seized from Moltini should be handed over to 44
couriers, who should receive 10,000 euros each.
Another 20,000 EUR was awarded to CGIL, also a complainant
in the case.
The decision follows investigations into Uber Italy’s
business practices that led Milan judges last year to put it under provisional
administration.
The measure was revoked in March after acknowledging that
the company had improved its balance sheet.
Prosecutors had found that couriers, usually migrants, were
paid EUR 3 per delivery, regardless of the length of their trip, the weather
conditions, the time they worked and whether whether or not it is a public
holiday. .
Prosecutors also said the workers were “stripped of tips
left spontaneously by customers” and punished with “an arbitrary suspension of
payments due for alleged lack of work.”
Gloria Bresciani, a suspended Uber Eats executive, faces
separate exploitation charges and is due to appear before a Milan judge on
Monday.
Uber is a major player in the “gig economy,” which relies on
hundreds of thousands of self-employed workers for app-based services like food
delivery or car rides.
Uber has long argued that its business model provides
flexibility and control to its employees, while critics say the company owes
its fortune to underpaid and overworked staff.