We are currently in a labor dispute with the delivery service Flink. One of our
members was recently dismissed without notice, against which we have now filed alawsuit in the labor court. The termination was unlawful, no reasons were given.We require all pay slips that were never given to the colleague, as well as thepayment of outstanding holiday entitlements and any outstanding wage payments, aswell as a proper job reference. We are only suing for one person here, but wealso want to support all drivers to resist the lousy working conditions at Flinkin all ways. ---- The company, which was only founded in 2020, is currently thelargest third-party delivery service in Europe. The principle: According toadvertising, bicycle couriers deliver everyday items directly to consumers within10 minutes. "Like shopping, only easier". In Dresden, too, there have so far been4 Flink branches or warehouses, called "hubs". We keep hearing about massiveviolations of workers' rights. To some, the whole thing is reminiscent of asimilar company, Gorillas, which made headlines after drivers went on wildcatstrikes over unsustainable working conditions.Our member started his work at Flink in June 2021 as a working student. Therewere irregularities in wage payments right from the start, they were often notpaid in full and had to be requested later. Despite repeated requests fromsuperiors, fthe colleague was not given access to his payslips, which made iteven more difficult to check the salary payments. In 2021, the colleague did notget any vacation, part of which was only granted in the spring of 2022. Therewere always problems with the digital timekeeping services, sometimes they simplycould not be reached, sometimes they were blocked so that colleagues could notsee their assigned shifts and thus de facto had no access to their workplace. Thesuperiors reacted slowly and often only in phrases to inquiries. "I will takecare of it!" and then silence. Whoever was the "superior" at the time changedoften and was not transparent. In September, our member was injured in anaccident at work and shortly thereafter was dismissed without notice. We thenfiled an action for protection against unfair dismissal against Flink at theDresden labor court. The quality appointment will take place in November, we willlet you know when we have the exact date.Dresden Flink-Riders organized by us have to deal with so many grievances thatthey neither fit into a court case nor into a clear text: Occupational safety isinadequate (e.g. in extreme weather). The weight of overweight backpacks is notchecked by default. Availabilities are often not taken into account whenallocating shifts. The break room is a closet with unhygienic furnishings. In thepast, terminations were sometimes completely informal and without notice. As isoften the case in the gig economy, the operational risk is shifted to theemployees: if there are not enough orders, you simply have fewer hours and lessmoney. Contractually agreed hours are not adhered to, so that wage theft takesplace here on a huge scale.Overall, Flink takes advantage of the racism in our society: the company employsmany migrants and exploits their dependencies and specific vulnerabilities. Theyoften do not know German labor law, language barriers play a role. Emails areoften in English, but the laws that require posting are only in German. It seemslike Flink always tries to be bold or illegal first and tries to get away withit. Unfortunately, that often works, because many are afraid to say something.It's not just a matter of financial existence: they don't want to/can'tjeopardize their employment and their residence status, which is often linked toit. Also for the sake of our colleagues, our member decided that we would go tocourt.The working conditions of the riders at Flink are examples of the precarious workin the brave new digital world of startups. Unfortunately, this court case is notabout the major improvements for all workers, it is "only" about compliance withexisting labor law standards: bosses cannot simply do what they want. Workinghours have to be paid, we are also entitled to vacation as working students andin mini-jobs, clear criteria have to be met for termination without notice, andso on. The judicial route is a strategy to reclaim the meager rights that labormovements have historically won. We won't let that be taken lightly.But it is much more important that we organize ourselves, in our companies, aswell as across companies and industries. That we take away the fear of saying notogether by supporting each other. Because together we can inform ourselves aboutour rights, claim them every day, and absorb ourselves in financial and personalcrises. So we no longer have to put up with everything from the boss or theclerk. Because we are not satisfied with individual court cases, but rehearse asolidary, self-governing world in which there is no place for exploitation anddomination.We look forward to your interest and your solidarity with the conciliationnegotiations at the Dresden Labor Court - stay tuned for the date.The delivery start-ups have done their calculations without the drivers, who arebecoming better and better networked and also organized in unions.We are anything but helplessly at the mercy of these conditions.P.s.: If you still order something from Flink, then talk to the riders abouttheir working conditions and that they don't have to be alone if they resist it.Also read: Working at the Flink delivery service: Drivers reportor in the English original: Working at Flink delivery service: Riders' experiencesCATEGORIESAG COUNSELING AND CONFLICT COORDINATION (BEKO), GENERAL,ANTI-REPRESSION, LABOR STRUGGLE, COUNSELING, DELIVERY, ORGANIZING, PROCESShttps://dd.fau.org/2022/11/06/wie-arbeiten-nur-beschissener-klage-gegen-lieferdienst-flink-nach-fristloser-kuendigung/_________________________________________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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