Paid €4/hour to pedal: the Deliveroo riders scandal and the consumerism that sustains it

Deliveroo comes under judicial scrutiny in the investigation into alleged gangmastering in the home delivery sector. Credits: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

And not even a few weeks pass since this post on Glovo when the Milan (Italy) Prosecutor’s Office put Deliveroo under judicial control, accusing the platform of systematic exploitation of riders and of payments below the poverty line. The exact same accusations directed at Glovo. With 20,000 across Italy, on a national turnover of 240 million euros, the company according to collected testimonies, pays riders less than 4 euros per hour, without vacation, sick leave or protections and once again an algorithm determines performance and tracking. The accusation officially speaks of digital gangmastering: a system that pays workers at the poverty threshold.

This is just outraging! Where have been all the agencies that are meant to control this? How all those fake and scam contracts went through without no officer noticing it? I'm also angry with the customers, because let’s say that I doubt anyone remains shocked by these accusations, it was rather clear that it was all based on exploitation and underpayment, and yet people continue to order from these services anyway. But why do they have to do it?? Simple, the real product they feel they are buying is not home-delivered food: it is the feeling of having everything immediately, without moving a finger, lying on the couch. It is the myth of the ideal consumer, our immediate pleasure caring highly little if someone else pedals in the rain, exploited and underpaid.

This rotten system works because it makes people passive and compliant: they buy convenience instead of considering who produces it. They persuade themselves that wealth is owning services, and why not "owning" the life of who gives them the service. They buy the illusion of control and comfort, on the shoulders of other workers.

Every order placed rewards precariousness, invisibility and insufficient incomes. Technology, data and algorithms are tools of oppression disguised as innovation. And brilliant are the consumers in all of this who self-applaud, convinced they are modern, efficient, green.

Everything is broken in this model of activity, it is just an economy designed around immediate consumption, where the life of those who work is sacrificed for convenience, no one cares for the worker as long as it gives personal comfort. Just stop it! Stop feeding exploitation and hypocrisy, and it would also be simple to do it: consume less, think about who produces what we receive and stop giving value to what has no real utility.

References: https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2026/02/25/caporalato-deliveroo-controllo-giudiziario