Heatwave Drives Italian Delivery Riders to Strike for Health and Wages

Tue Sep 15 2026 19:36:25 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Riders for Glovo and Deliveroo in Italy stage strikes amid record heat, demanding safer working conditions and wage protections during scorching summer hours.

As temperatures soar across Italy, food‑delivery riders are calling for a halt to work during the hottest hours of the day. Milan’s city council has already imposed delivery limits between 12:30 and 16:00 until September, but unions argue that riders must be able to earn wages without risking health. The strike will affect major hubs in Milan, Bologna and Florence, with riders in Florence also calling on building sites and farms to observe bans on outdoor work during peak heat. European trade‑union data point to roughly 130 million workers exposed to heat stress each year, with similar clashes already taking place in Spain and France. Local unions plan to discuss social safety nets and company responsibilities with the labour ministry next week, while tech firms like Glovo and JustEat are negotiating new safety protocols for their workforce.

Heatwave Drives Italian Delivery Riders to Strike for Health and Wages

Italian delivery riders for Glovo and Deliveroo have decided to strike in several cities on Wednesday, demanding better working conditions amid record summer temperatures.

In Milan authorities have already limited deliveries during the hottest hours of the day until late September. On the day of the strike, riders will halt work in the evenings to call for measures that protect wages and health.

Bologna sees riders switching off their app and demonstrating in the city centre, while in Florence the protest involves a stoppage that mirrors the city’s heat‑related work bans on public sites. Temperatures in Florence are forecast to hit 40℃ this week.

The heat‑induced unrest is not confined to Italy. Research by the European Trade Union Institute indicates that about 130 million European workers are exposed to heat stress in the workplace each year. In Andalusia, Spain, a union has expressed that Glovo’s summer protocol fails at temperatures approaching 45℃.

France experienced teachers’ unions urging strikes due to classroom and exam conditions under extreme heat, with many schools adjusting timetables or closing altogether.

Policy and negotiation are underway: Milan’s Cgil trade union claims companies should allocate resources to protect riders’ health without forcing wage loss. City officials and union leaders will meet in Rome next Thursday to discuss social safety nets. Companies such as Glovo and JustEat are in talks, with JustEat clarifying that its riders are not participating in the Milan strike.

Using quantum‑driven data analysis, quanta.report has mapped these labor disruptions in real time, revealing a pattern of escalating heat‑related worker unrest across Europe. The pandemic‑era delivery sector faces a new frontier where technology, climate and labor rights converge.