Glovo and Deliveroo couriers in the Tuscan capital will down tools on Wednesday, 15 July. It is the first move in a wider campaign against falling pay rates and gruelling summer working conditions for delivery riders.
Delivery riders working for Glovo and Deliveroo in Florence will strike on Wednesday, in protest against pay they describe as increasingly inadequate and working conditions made worse by a punishing summer heatwave.
The decision was taken at an assembly of riders held in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, organised by Nidil Cgil Firenze, the branch of the trade union confederation that represents so-called atypical workers. Following the discussion, workers chose to open a phase of protest that will begin on Wednesday 15 July with a strike, the union explained.
Pay by the delivery, not the hour
At the heart of the dispute is the piece-rate model that underpins food delivery work in Italy, under which riders are paid per delivery rather than for the hours they spend on the road. Riders want to see that model abandoned in favour of pay based on hours actually worked, in line with European and national regulatory guidance.
The union says the economic pressure on riders has been building for some time, with per-delivery rates falling even as costs rise. One striking example emerged during the Florence assembly: a rider described being paid just three euro gross for a delivery from Via Cavour, in the historic centre, all the way out to Coverciano — a trip of several kilometres across the city.
Working through the heat
The timing of the strike is no accident. Florence has spent the past week under an orange heat alert, with temperatures climbing steadily — 35 degrees on Saturday, a forecast peak of 39 by Wednesday itself. For riders spending hours on bikes and scooters in the open air, that heat is not a backdrop to the job but a direct hazard, and it has sharpened frustration over pay that many already regard as too low to justify the risk.
The union frames the strike as a first step rather than a one-off gesture. It says the assembly voted to launch a broader mobilisation, with Wednesday’s action intended to draw the attention of the delivery platforms, local institutions and the public to the conditions ciclofattorini (cycle couriers) are working under.
The Florence strike also reflects unease over how national talks are progressing. The assembly voiced concern about the state of negotiations between unions and Assodelivery and Conftrasporti, the bodies representing the delivery platforms and transport sector at national level.
For now, Wednesday’s action is limited to Glovo and Deliveroo riders in Florence, but the union has been explicit that it sees this as the opening move in a longer campaign rather than an isolated protest.
In May the Antitrust Authority opened an investigation into Glovo and Deliveroo.
