Ljubljana - The Mladi Plus youth trade union warns that the work conditions of the Wolt and Glovo delivery staff have further deteriorated, urging the Labour Ministry to immediately draw up legislation to ensure basic workers' and social rights for the staff. The companies Wolt and Glovo were urged to respect the law.

Tea Jarc, the trade union's head, told the press on Friday that several delivery persons working for Wolt Slovenia had turned to them with their grievances while the union was also in touch with Glovo staff.

Most of the workers are still working as students or self-employed, meaning these are precarious jobs, while they have elements of regular employment. There are also cases where self-employed persons subcontract other delivery persons who receive no bonuses and get lower pay.

Jarc said food delivery persons report of their hourly pay dropping despite the inflation. For students, the minimal hourly pay is set by law, but it is not clear how this is respected in delivery as staff is paid based on the number of deliveries, and not hours worked.

The trade unionist added that it was also unacceptable that students can only work at specific hours, when demand is the highest, which meant they could not earn proper pay.

Delivery persons must also do other tasks they are not paid for, and they are not paid for waiting for new deliveries nor for waiting for the food at restaurants.

They have to work in all weather conditions, even when it is extremely hot, and do not even have a lunch break.

Accidents constantly occur during their work and they commit dozens of violations of traffic rules daily, as pay depends on their speed, Jarc said.

Wolt offers insurance, but only for serious accidents and not for injuries that require several days of rest, which means these persons cannot earn any money, Jarc said.

She also pointed to reports of poor inter-personal relations at work, and growing racism and xenophobia.

Those who criticise their employer face retaliation. The staff is often punished for criticism by being cut off from work, she said.

Jarc urged all delivery staff to report problems to the union, noting that in some countries delivery staff fought for their rights in court and that some had their own trade unions. Talks about a strike are also under way.

Wolt Slovenia said in a response that it was not familiar with the measurements from the survey and on what the union's claims were based, adding that this would be discussed at a meeting with Mladi Plus at the beginning of August.

The platform currently cooperates with 500 delivery persons in eleven cities in Slovenia, and conducts an annual anonymous survey to see how satisfied the staff is. "It is interesting that as many as 86% of them are satisfied," Wolt Slovenia told the STA.

It added that based on the results of these surveys, the company was making improvements in communication and providing additional equipment to the staff, and introduces additional benefits such as insurance, higher hourly rates, etc.