Gorilla drivers on strike again

The demands are still the same, Gorillas is still not responding to the workers' criticism. Drivers at three warehouses in Berlin have been on strike since Friday, with a lot of solidarity coming from other employees in the gig economy.

While LinkedIn has just named Gorillas the most attractive start-up in Germany, this assessment would certainly be different for the start-up's employees. Since last Friday, there have once again been wildcat strikes in the Schöneberg and Bergmannkiez department stores in the capital, followed by Gesundbrunnen on Saturday. Symbolically, the riders of the department stores turned their bikes around in front of the warehouses and stopped work. Other workers in the so-called "gig economy" were able to show solidarity by sharing photos of their bikes, which had also been turned upside down, on social media. The company responded by sending management staff to the strikers.

With their strike, the employees are reaffirming their demands for better working hours, equipment provided by Gorillas such as bicycles and cell phones, as well as changes to probationary periods and conditions in the contracts. As with the last strike, the reason for the strike was the dismissal of an employee on the last day of his probationary period, as an employee told the Junge Welt told Junge Welt.

The mood among the drivers was already very tense during the week, due to the fact that Gorillas sent transfer contracts to two thirds of the employees in the operational business, who are to be employed by a subsidiary from October. This could also be linked to the attempt by Gorillas employees to set up a works council. So far, the process has only progressed as far as the election of an election committee.

According to employees, Gorillas is also using a new program to coordinate riders, which calculates how many drivers are needed depending on how busy Gorillas is. However, shifts can also end at midnight and start at seven the next day, which is prohibited under labor law, as an eleven-hour rest period is mandatory.