Interview with a gorillas rider who was seriously injured in a traffic accident
due to a brake malfunction ---- Source and protest mail form:https://radicalriders.nl/ - Original[NL]: https://radicalriders.nl/ ---- OnDecember 12th, our colleague Mustapha was involved in a traffic accident causedby a broken bicycle while he was working for gorillas. He is physically injuredand still very shaken from the accident and is therefore still unable to work. Heneeds time and rest to recover that he doesn't get in the current situation. ----We want gorillas to take responsibility and not get them into major financialdifficulties. We demand from gorillas:100% continued payment of wages for Mustapha, without wage deduction.Mustapha continued employment until he recoveredKeep the workplace safeMonetary compensation for physical and emotional pain suffered.Your solidarity is requiredMustapha is not the first, and will not be the last, to be in an accident. If weall stand together in solidarity, we not only support one colleague, but we alsoprotest against the fact that companies are all using us as cannon fodder. Makeyour protest heard and send a message to the responsible gorilla manager.How have you been since the accident, Mustapha?I am very tired and in a lot of pain. I can often barely sleep, if I can at all.I have nightmares and palpitations in the middle of the night. It was very scarythat the wheel would just keep moving and I would lose control. Again and again Isee the car coming towards me. I'm also afraid of traffic ... especially whencycling. I'm from Amsterdam, a bike courier, I need a bike! It is clear to methat I suffered a trauma for which I am going to see a psychologist. My body isshaking and twitching all day long. Strong pain relievers took the pain down abit, but I'm still severely affected, although as a martial artist I've certainlylearned to take a punch. The accident will soon cause major financial problems,which is very stressful for me.That sounds like a pretty bad accident.I ride the cargo bike. They are often (too) heavily loaded and they have a verypowerful engine. On the way to my next customer, I crossed the Jan vanGalenstraat next to the underground station. This is a very busy road and thereis often very high speed driving. I tried to stop at the red light, but themotorcycle engine started spontaneously. In a panic, I tried to brake ... but itdidn't work.The bike pushed you out onto the street, over a red light? Do the bikes often fail?This happens much more often with normal bicycles, which break almost every day.But I've also experienced it several times as a cargo cyclist: an engine thatmakes itself independent and brakes that fail. This is a much discussed problemin the warehouse. I always report defective bicycles and I put defective bicyclesaway.Heard you have pain in your ankle, knee, leg, lower and upper back, and neck?I landed on my feet at high speed. I managed to stay upright, but my body twistedand kept moving. The pain came quickly and was immediately very bad, and I knewthis was wrong. I sat down on the sidewalk and a little later you came by.You sat there looking lousy, like in a lot of pain, but your phone kept ringing.We are often called by customers on our home number while we are out and about.That is ridiculously unsafe in and of itself, but Gorillas demands that we letthat happen. On this trip, too, customers called to ask why I wasn't there yet.They kept calling even after the accident. At some point I picked up thereceiver: "Lady, please, I had a traffic accident, I'm in pain. I don't know whenI'll be there, maybe someone else will bring your things in a few minutes. Pleasebe patient". She picked up her things within a few minutes; she found me throughGPS tracking.A manager appeared and everything seemed to turn out fine.He suggested pretending the accident never happened and wanted to come to anagreement with me about it. No reason to worry. But if the accident had causedlong-term damage, I would not be able to get any compensation because officiallythe accident would not have happened at all. At my persistent insistence, heagreed to report the damage over the phone. Because of my poor condition, weagreed that he would take care of all the paperwork.Another colleague - we call her "M" - has finally recovered from her trafficaccident. Your steering wheel has jammed.M. was home with an injured knee for three weeks. Terrible for her. I am gladthat she is better. We riders often have accidents, but rarely through our own fault.A manager says we are giving false information, that you purposely went through ared light, and that the brakes were okay.I think it is dangerous for someone who was not there to make such statements. Hecan't know, but he calls me a liar. The people who were there, including thedriver who hit me, all corroborate my story. And they are ready to put that onrecord. The rider also tested the bike. The brakes didn't work on him either.Managers consider their role as supervisors to be very important. Such anaccident is bad for their image, so they don't want this to happen during theirshift. On the other hand: Often half or more of the bikes are broken. Brokenbicycles are often used again. They say: we don't force anyone. Nice and simple.Where is the responsibility then?Most of all, they want their jobs to run smoothly. On their computers they stareat their statistics with the performance numbers of the camp. They can't godownstairs. This is important to them. Then comes security. So what's themisinformation here, I ask?We, your colleagues, stand behind you, we know how dangerous these bikes are.What are you particularly concerned about now?I've worked with gorillas like an animal. Every month I worked so hard that Iearned EUR 2,400. Now I've lost 40% of my income. The thing is, I worked atGorillas for 9 weeks. They calculate sick pay based on the average of the last 13weeks. I get 90% of that. So in the end there is 60% left. I really need my fullincome, especially now. But in this way I am being punished instead of beinghelped. With 1400 EUR I cannot meet my obligations and get into big trouble.The Radical Riders got behind you, and you joined us. The managing director ofGorillas NL wanted to call you, they were there. How did that goHe has offered me all his support and help and made me feel like they will takecare of it immediately. He really thought it was that bad. He wanted to doeverything he could to help me get better. We talked to him about it and askedhim specific things. Point 1 and 2 of our demands.The CEO gave us the email address of a member of the legal department, Ms. K. Hesaid: Write to her what you think is reasonable and fair, and we will find asolution together. And we did that in a very kind email.On Monday the 20th we got an answer, not from Ms. K., but from a Ms. P., and itseemed like I was emailing a completely different company than the one I hadspoken to before. The response from gorillas was in some kind of upside-downworld. They kept saying that I did not return to the warehouse on the day of theaccident. She seemed to think that while I felt like I was dying and barelystanding, the best course of action was to go back and fill out a few formsinstead of seeking help. And as I said earlier, I had agreed with the manager whocame to the scene of the accident that he would take care of the paperwork. Heapparently never did, and that's what gorillas are now using against me.Gorillas again declined responsibility in their email. The representative said ifI had a claim I should send it to her, she would forward it to the insurer, andthey would then decide. But what do I have to do with your insurer? If the carthat hit me is damaged, the owner will get money from the insurance. When aperson is damaged, the question is whether you get something for it, yes or no.This is a nice phrase in their answer. "The bicycles are from well-known bicyclebrands and are supplied by reputable suppliers".This is nonsense that even they don't believe themselves.What are the things you need nowGorillas must take responsibility:I want my financial situation to be covered. As I said, my income is 60% of whatit normally is. I want to get 100% again. This also corresponds to theresponsibility of gorillas, towards me as an employee and as the personresponsible for the bicyclesI want to know that when my fixed-term contract expires in January, I won't fallback on unemployment benefits. At the moment I cannot apply or work becausetechnically I am still employed by Gorillas. I need to recover. That can't bedone if I don't pay my rent and end up on the street, and I can't make any moneyuntil I recover. Gorillas can keep me safe by giving me a permanent contractuntil I recover.I want financial compensation for my pain and the way my case has been treated sofar.Send a protest message to the Gorillas leadership and show your solidarity withMustaphaYou can find a form for a protest message on the following website. Your emailaddress will not be passed on to gorillas:https://radicalriders.nlhttps://www.fau.org/artikel/solidaritaet-mit-mustapha_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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