The home delivery sector’s protests are being joined by workers in Alicante this week. Today, Friday, April 24th, at 5:00 p.m., employees of the Glovo platform have declared a demonstration at the terminus of the Rambla de Méndez Núñez in Alicante. This action is a component of the nationwide strike scheduled for April 24th-26th, during which time identical demonstrations will be held throughout the nation.
According to the motorcyclists, the protest is intended to raise awareness of the group’s current circumstances in the province and to highlight a series of labour demands that have become more strident in recent months.
The announcement coincides with the company’s ongoing restructuring of its operations in Spain. A workforce reduction plan (ERE) was recently announced by the company, which could potentially impact up to 750 delivery drivers across the country. This plan is part of a broader initiative that also includes service adjustments in over 60 locations.
The specific impact of this adjustment on the province of Alicante has not yet been definitively detailed. Union sources previously reported that the number of affected workers could be between six and eight, as this publication previously reported. However, this figure was pending validation at the time of the restructuring plan’s announcement.
This situation is in alignment with other recent modifications to Glovo’s workforce structure in Alicante. The company has implemented strategies that combine new recruits with layoffs, as indicated by previously published information. More specifically, there have been 68 departures, which have been accompanied by between 57 and 59 new hires, resulting in a net reduction of between nine and ten positions. The same sources cautioned that this type of dynamic can have a negative impact on the seniority of employees and warned of the possibility of legal action if these practices become ingrained.
In this context, the motorcyclists who are participating in the Alicante demonstration are emphasising the progressive degradation of their working conditions. The mobilisation is motivated by their rejection of redundancies, which they regard as part of a broader austerity process, their opposition to outsourcing models that utilise fleets, and their criticism of internal evaluation and disciplinary systems.
The call also demands the continuation of negotiations for an updated collective agreement for the sector, as well as the cessation of practices that, according to the organisers, impede union activity within the platform.
The rally today is scheduled to be an open event, with the objective of communicating these demands to the public and the media.
In the interim, Glovo has maintained in its communications that the modifications are a result of organisational and production-related factors, as part of an operating model adaptation. In particular, it has established a correlation between the personnel reduction and the necessity of adjusting the delivery system to ensure the business’s sustainability. The delivery management model is altered as part of this reorganisation process, which involves a shift toward schemes in which the company does not actively manage operations in specific areas.
In the interim, the institutional sphere has indicated that these platforms will be subject to monitoring to ensure compliance with current labour regulations, as evidenced by the implementation of the Rider Law.
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