Dispute at Gorillas over the establishment of a works council

For the election of a works council, first an election committee is convened. That's what employees of Gorillas in Berlin did on Thursday. But apparently not all employees were allowed to attend the meeting.

Setting up a works council in Berlin startups is apparently not one of the easiest things to do. The latest example is the food delivery service Gorillas. On Thursday, an election committee for the works council was to be elected in Berlin-Neukölln, and the start-up's employees were invited to attend. But not all of them were apparently allowed to attend the event and were turned away at the door, as several media report. The reason for this is an exclusion list with names that includes employees in higher positions.

In principle, such lists are allowed. Behind this is the question of when someone is considered a manager and when they are not. This is because shareholders and managers who have personnel responsibility are not allowed to participate in the formation of a works council. Only their names were on the blacklist, writes the Gorillas Workers Collective on Twitter, which organized the event. Parts of the management are said to have tried to come to the meeting anyway.

However, several media outlets also report the exclusion of employees who are not members of management and were turned away anyway. For example, a Riders Captain, who was responsible for twenty riders, or a supervisor from a warehouse.

The Gorillas Workers Collective has been critical of Gorillas' working conditions and internal processes via Twitter for months. It is not known who exactly or how many employees of the start-up are behind the account.

The company itself is said to be considering contesting Thursday's election, as not all employees were able to participate equally. Still in the evening, the Berlin employees of Gorillas apparently received an e-mail, in which was written of the examination of the legal basis. First of all, the discussion with the initiators would be sought.

In the course of the day, the election board wants to publish a statement, Gorillas Workers Collective announced via Twitter.