Looking from the outside, there is a lot in common between Walt’s messengers roaming around Berlin and their colleagues in Tel Aviv. They wear the same uniform, carry the same oversized box of contents on their backs, and many of them use electric bicycles to quickly reach hungry customers.
● The Walt precedent: what labor relations will look like in the new economy
● Labor laws in Israel remained in the last century
But there are profound differences between them. While the messengers in Israel are employed as independent and casual workers, those in Germany are company employees for all intents and purposes. There are signed contracts between the parties, binding hours agreements and fixed shifts. Walt is obliged to grant its emissaries in Germany 20 paid vacation days per year, supplement their salary, and also grant them sick days as defined by law. In Israel, on the other hand, a preliminary legal proceeding is underway these days, in the framework of which some of the company’s employees are fighting to recognize the working relationship between the parties.
The situation of the messengers in Germany, those who work for the multitude of food and delivery platforms, is a result of the country’s labor laws, as well as a long-standing struggle by the labor organizations to include the workers of the “Gig Economy”, as it is called, in the old labor relations that existed in it. A similar situation exists, for example, in Spain and France.
Seemingly, this undermines one of the main arguments of Walt and her colleagues, according to which it is not possible to provide the service at the level, price and speed that is being performed now, if they force the company to employ the messengers as regular employees. Here they (and couriers of other companies) are defined as regular employees in several large European countries, and the customer in Berlin can order a hamburger from a neighboring restaurant, pay 1.9 euros for delivery before tip and receive it within half an hour.
But in practice, the fact that the entire field is still losing, and companies like “Volt” (which was acquired by the American company “Doordash” in a deal worth 8.1 billion dollars this year) still do not post a net profit despite huge revenues, makes it difficult to determine if the companies’ model can actually work even In countries with strict employment laws. The companies themselves warn that this is not possible. Walt says in response to Globes that the satisfaction of the messengers in Germany is low, and she is even considering “changes in the employment model” in the country.
In fact, at the current stage it is difficult to know whether the ongoing activity also in European countries that make it difficult for the platform companies and oblige them to employ couriers stems from a desire to take over the market even at the cost of a loss, from hope for a change in the laws or from a willingness for lower profit margins.
But it is clear that, as in Israel, the issue is at the center of the conflict between the platform companies and various governments, and also with the European Union. The question that is being discussed these days in labor courts in Israel and probably soon in other judicial courts, is also at the center of a heated European debate regarding the future of work.
The abandonment of delivery services from France
The struggle and frictions spread across the continent. The “Deliveroo” service (Deliveroo), for example, one of the European competitors of the “Volt” company, announced in November that it is completely leaving the activity in Spain. The reasoning was new labor laws enacted last year by the social-democratic government in the country, which effectively equated the status of all workers in the “barter economy” to ordinary workers. Compared to Deliveroo, other companies such as UberEats and Just Eat Takeaway, still operate in the country, and employ the workers according to the new laws.
In France, there is currently a battle going on between the delivery platforms over the issue of the employment of couriers. The Just Eat Takeaway company, which committed two years ago to employ the messengers in the country as full-time employees, is threatening to withdraw from its decision, if the government continues to allow rival services such as UberEats to employ them as freelancers and casual workers. “We have been big supporters of the salaried employment model in France and Europe,” the company informed its employees about two weeks ago, “but we cannot continue to do this alone.” In Germany, the food delivery service Delivery Hero has already twice announced its withdrawal from operations in the country, due to labor laws, he said. Other services, as mentioned, continue to operate in the country.
The legislation that will affect 4 million workers
In the background of the conflicts is also future legislation of the European Union, which tries to regulate what is happening in the field. According to the European Commission’s estimates, approximately 4 million people currently work through various platforms, either as freelancers or as employees, and the legislation will have major implications for their future.
The legislation is now in the consultation stages, and the companies are investing a lot of money in convincing the Commission and the public about the opportunities that their new form of employment provides. According to studies funded by the food platform companies Bolt, Volt, Delivery Hero, Deliveroo and others, more than 70% of the couriers actually prefer the flexibility to choose shifts and the higher than usual remuneration associated with the self-employment model.
On the other hand, the Commission has already defined criteria that will establish employee-employer relations between the parties, and will give the messengers the workers’ rights that have become a European norm after decades of labor struggles and legal rulings. The criteria are complex, and include questions such as whether the employees are free to work for other companies, whether their shifts are determined by the company, questions about uniforms and logos, the possibility of changing jobs, and more. Fulfillment of two criteria, according to the proposed legislation, will be sufficient to recognize an employee-employer relationship.
In Finland, too, there is recognition of employee-employer relations
And in the meantime, until European legislation moves forward, a process that may take years, local courts are required to decide these issues themselves. Also in Finland, the mother country of the Walt service, at the end of last year a labor council ruled that there is an employee-employer relationship between Walt’s messengers and the company. The company announced its intention to appeal the verdict to the court. As in Israel, the company’s representatives in Finland said that if they had been obliged to employ the workers on permanent contracts, this would have allowed only about 2,000 workers, instead of the 5,000 who work with the company today.
Founder and CEO of Wolt, Miki Kosi / Photo: Courtesy of Wolt
“The European picture is very complex, and differs from country to country in accordance with the labor laws that exist there,” they say in response to Globes’ questions, “in Germany, which is the only country out of the 27 countries of the European Union (Walt is not active in France and Spain, aa), where the messengers are employed as employees on By law, their satisfaction and also their average wages are significantly lower compared to other countries. Messengers don’t have flexibility, which is the main reason they join Volt. They don’t have the freedom to choose when they are available for deliveries and which orders to take.”
“In fact,” the company says, “Walt is examining changes to the messenger model in Germany because of the dissatisfaction of the messengers and the low operational performance. It can also be seen that food and grocery delivery platforms are simply leaving countries where labor laws do not allow employment as partners or as independents, such as in Spain, Germany and France.” . According to the company, “it’s important to understand that the world of work is changing, and you need to understand the opportunities this makes possible and adapt the labor laws.”