La Spezia comes the “home of the riders”: a place to rest and shelter from the cold between one delivery and another

Genoa – In La Spezia a “Rider’s House” is born where workers can find refuge between deliveries. The rooms of the former 4th district, in via Padre Giuliani, will be open to cyclists to offer them a place where rest, recharge your phone, use toilets and, simply, shelter from the cold and rain.

“An answer to those who carry out an activity that often coincides with precariousness – said the mayor Pierluigi Peracchini -. With this gesture I believe La Spezia becomes an example at national level”. The initiative is being carried out together with the trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL and comes from a specific request from the approx seventy La Spezia riders, who often base themselves near the Palace of Justice, in an open-air alley. “Maybe arguing to be able to park. A dangerous situation – underlines Fabio Quaretti of the CGIL -. This operation is courageous and delicate, not surprisingly one of the very first in Italy. An attempt to adapt to new jobs, which our cities are not predisposed to. receive”.

A similar experience, involving the public administrations, had arisen for now only in Modena. “It all started with the strike of March 2021. We found an interlocutory in the unions, but the doors in the face of the company remained – says Pier Paolo Ritrovati, rider for Just Eat -. Being in the middle of the road at night and during the day. , has exposed us to harassment and violence in the past. Now it is essential to move the starting point, the imaginary turnstile through which we enter work. We would like it to coincide with the room that has been made available to us “.

The House of La Spezia riders should be inaugurated next May 1st after i premises will be subject to some cleaning and adaptation works. One hundred potentially affected workers. For the deputy and councilor for Heritage, Manuela Gagliardi, it is “a provision of civilization and labor law, which in La Spezia is teaching throughout Italy”

Full satisfaction from the trade unions: “We worked for months with the riders to find their headquarters and we thank the municipal administration for their sensitivity. Our goal is extend rights and protections also to these workers who carry out hard and tiring work, which exposes them to risks and bad weather. Having a place to rest, equipped with toilets, is an undoubted step forward. But we don’t stop there, we will go on to get better and better working conditions for these workers “, comments Quaretti.” It is a great achievement – adds Francesco Tartarini of CISL – that of the rider is a delicate job, always in traffic and that deals with delivery times and the weather. Now, there will be a point where you can wait in peace, with toilets and recharging points “. For Marco Gaeta of the Uiltrasporti Territorial Secretariat, this agreement” in addition to giving dignity and due recognition to the work of the riders, ensures that the quality of the work and that these workers feel valued and not marginalized. A sign of civilization and union “.