The Uber Eats Trial
The phenomenon of digital caporalato has made headlines in Italy due to various legal cases, revealing its multifaceted presence in the platform work environment. In May 2020, several newspapers in Italy exposed the scandal of digital labour exploitation among UberEats riders following an investigation by the Milan Prosecutor’s Office into Uber managers and a company acting as an intermediary named Flash Road City (FRC). Essentially, FRC managed around 750 UberEats riders across Italy using unorthodox and criminally prosecutable methods. The investigations led the Court to place the Italian branch of the Californian company under receivership following convictions for illicit intermediation and labour exploitation (ex-art. 630-bis of the Italian Penal Code), setting a precedent in labour jurisprudence—alongside another case of the so-called new caporalato involving labour through fictitious cooperatives at Ceva Logistic (Merlo, 2020). The term digital caporalato aptly described the situation uncovered by investigators: compelling evidence painted a grim picture where managers recruited couriers, particularly asylum seekers residing in reception centres, coerced them to sign presumed agreements in unfamiliar spaces, withheld tips and a portion of each delivery’s earnings (amounting to around e20.000 in tips alone in 2019), enforced non-refusal of rides by riders and imposed arbitrary financial penalties. The most distressing aspect of the investigation pertained to the oppressive conditions imposed on Uber Eats riders. Phone intercepts revealed a semi-slave-like treatment by FRC executives towards riders: arbitrary disciplinary measures for alleged infractions, threats to suspend accounts for perceived misbehaviour or complaints, and tones that not only undermined work dignity but also exhibited clear racist undertones. In several cases reported in the investigation by the Court of Milan, racist and denigrating language was used towards the riders, who were often suspended for trivial reasons. For example, one of FRC’s best-known managers, according to testimonies reported to the court, referred to the sub-Saharan riders by saying that “they stink because, being dark-skinned, they normally stink”.<sup>1</sup> Several Uber Italy managers are also implicated in the investigation because they were aware of the methods used by FRC and because they were the only ones who could effectively block the riders accounts. The facade of apparent legality that characterises the FRC has allowed them to recruit, in the 2018–2020 period, a growing workforce made up of numerous asylum-seeking migrants, mostly living in temporary reception centres. As the Court’s report explains:
3 DIGITAL CAPORALATO AND MIGRANT LABOUR IN THE GIG
69
<sup>1</sup> Available at: https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2023/05/24/news/caporalato\_p rocesso\_rider\_ricusazione\_giudice\_uber-401586108/ (Last access 13/03/2024).