Further protest with gorillas in Berlin

On Wednesday, a rider was dismissed without notice, after which his colleagues walked off the job. Since then, demonstrators in Berlin have been blockading Gorillas' warehouses and the company has been surprisingly quiet.

There is no peace at Gorillas: Following last week's dispute over the first meeting to establish a works council, Gorillas riders have been protesting at the start-up's warehouses in Berlin since Wednesday. This was triggered by the summary dismissal of an employee who, according to various reports from the protesters, was dismissed without warning on Wednesday morning. He himself told the taz"I was not given a reason by the management."

His colleagues began to lay down their work at the warehouse in Charlottenburg in solidarity. The group Gorillas Workers Collective called for further protests at the warehouse in Prenzlauer Berg and issued an ultimatum for reinstatement by midnight on Thursday. The protest continues, and on Thursday the operator of a warehouse called the police. The demand is for the rider to be reinstated and for improved working conditions as well as the abolition of the probationary period of six months.

In an interview with the Tagesspiegel, Gorillas confirmed that "an employee was dismissed solely for behavioral reasons during his probationary period. Gorillas is actively seeking an objective dialog with the employee group." The dismissal was due to repeated tardiness. On Friday, Gorillas invited its employees to a virtual meeting to talk about what had happened.

The company's riders, as the food delivery service's bicycle couriers call themselves, have been criticizing the poor working conditions for months. In winter, some of them protested because they were expected to work despite icy roads and poorly equipped clothing. Last Thursday, Gorillas employees elected an election committee, the first step towards establishing a works council. Following discussions about a list of employees who were not allowed to take part in the event, Gorillas announced that it would examine the legal validity of the election.

On social media, riders from companies such as Lieferando and other Gorillas locations expressed their solidarity with the protest in Berlin. Politicians such as Cansel Kiziltepe from the SPD have also spoken out: "We have fought hard for industrial action and workers' rights. We will not allow hire&fire and union-busting."