Right after the Turin verdict,
that rejected the revision by 6 riders against Foodora,
in Bologna the first nation-wide assembly of riders took place.
The Turin sentence was negative,
but that is not very surprising.
It's clear that the Italian labour law runs behind
the new forms of labour.
In Turin the lawyers will appeal on points of law.
as soon as they have read the reason s giver for the judgement.
But it's clear, that the juridical path is not the only one.
The proof is this assembly.
There is the path of organis ing,of figthing and of politics.
This verdict does not stop us,
it might even give us new impetus.
It makes clear: if we wan t labour rights,
we, the workers, have to organize
and to try and re-establish rights that are presently beeing lost.
For months in Bologna, we have organised ourselves,
in this form of an autonomous collective, of a social union
called "Riders Union".
Together we have writte a charter, that will be presented to the platforms.
A charter of rights for digital work, with some clear points:
safety at work, appropriate equipment, casualties to be fully covert,
the question of salaries, so No to piece wage,
but a dignified mimnimum wage instead.
Compensations in case of bad weather, bank hollidays,
and for the mantainence of the work equipment,
guaranteed minimum working hours.
These are points of the charter that has been produced in this last weeks
and that will be presented to the platforms.
In the next weeks there will be a round table in the municipality.
Let's see which platforms will attend.
And who will sign it.
We want this charter to have mandatory value,
as well for those platforms that will not sign it.
We cannot expect
that a judge changes the economic balances
that are currently in place.
One changes the things from below.
With the engagement and organisation of everybody.
For 4 years i have been making deliveries by bike, in Bruxelles.
I have worked for different platforms.
Now I have been fired by Deliveroo
because i didn't want to become a fleelancer.
I didn't accept a working contract with the most absolute lack of rights.
Pure piece wage. Wage just for deliveries.
In Belgium the commission for work protection has started an investigation.
More then 600 riders have been interviewwd.
A commission has stated that me and a colleague
have to be regarded as employees
and not as autonomous workers.
Befor you sue one of those platforms
you really have to organise with as much people as possible
in order not to give to the judges the possibility,
the interpret things in a way defined by the employer.
In Australia and Hong Kong as well workers have protested.
The matter is global.
The best way to fight for representation rights and work safety
is the struggle.
Meetings like this one today are very important,
because a nationwide network is being constructed.
The EU has to give answers.
The Turin verdict is not a final point.