Statement by the Cyprus Hotels and Catering Establishment Employees Trade Union (SYXKA) affiliated to the class-based trade union federation of PEO
Drivers working on the Wolt digital platform have been on strike for three days in Nicosia, protesting against working conditions resembling the era of the Middle Ages.
SYXKA – PEO, which has been on the side of the workers from the very first moment, points out that their employment conditions and status are very problematic and they are victims of brutal exploitation both by the companies and by the middlemen agents who have obtained from the Labour Department the work permits to employ these workers, the majority of whom are asylum seekers and students.
More specifically, the companies that appear as the legal employers, assign them to this digital platform and the workers are required to pay 41% of their wages to the agents, while Wolt, which is the company for which they actually work, appears to taken no responsibility whatsoever towards these workers.
In addition, the working people are forced to use their own vehicle to fulfill their work and are responsible for all the vehicle’s expenses.
It is obvious that the whole process of granting work permits and the conditions of employment of distributors is extremely problematic.
The Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) has since Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Labour Relations Department (TES) from which we await the actions it will take.
SYXKA PEO, in addition to the complaint filed to the TES, has decided to address the Labour Relations Department calling for its mediation with the aim of negotiating collective labour agreements that should guarantee humane working conditions and basic terms of employment.
SYXKA PEO is also in contact with workers on other digital platforms to broaden the front of assertions and demands.