Delivery Riders in Italy’s Heat Waves: Vulnerability in the Gig Economy
In the scorching summer heat that blanketed Italy this year, delivery riders navigated an additional layer of hardship beyond their already precarious working conditions. As temperatures soared across Italian cities, these essential workers—who represent the human face of our on-demand economy—found themselves caught between earning a living and protecting their health. The successive heat waves that gripped the country transformed already challenging work into potentially dangerous labor, highlighting the vulnerability of those who ensure our packages and meals arrive at our doorsteps with just a few taps on our smartphones.
The gig economy has revolutionized how we receive goods and services, creating a workforce that operates outside traditional employment structures. In Italy, as in many countries, delivery riders typically work as independent contractors rather than employees, meaning they lack many basic protections such as sick leave, vacation time, or guaranteed hourly wages. Instead, they earn by completing deliveries—a system that inherently encourages long hours and continuous work regardless of conditions. When summer temperatures regularly climbed above 95°F (35°C) across Italian cities this year, these workers faced a stark choice: continue riding through dangerous heat or sacrifice much-needed income. Many riders, particularly migrants and young people who dominate this sector, simply couldn’t afford to stop working, even as the asphalt beneath their bikes and scooters radiated additional heat.
The physical toll of this work during extreme heat cannot be overstated. Delivery riders typically travel dozens of miles daily on bikes or scooters, carrying heavy loads up apartment buildings that often lack elevators, all while racing against algorithm-determined deadlines. In normal conditions, this work is physically demanding; during heat waves, it becomes potentially life-threatening. Medical experts warn that sustained physical exertion in extreme heat dramatically increases the risk of heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and cardiovascular emergencies. For riders, symptoms like dizziness, confusion, or heart palpitations don’t just mean health concerns—they represent dangerous conditions while navigating busy traffic. Despite these risks, riders reported that platforms offered little adjustment to expectations during the most severe heat, with delivery times and performance metrics remaining largely unchanged.
Some Italian municipalities attempted to address these dangers by implementing temporary bans on delivery work during the hottest hours of the day—typically from 12:30 to 4:00 PM when temperatures peaked. While well-intentioned, these measures created mixed results. For platforms, they represented an operational challenge, but for riders, they meant unpredictable income gaps during what would normally be lucrative lunch delivery hours. A few forward-thinking delivery companies implemented heat-related policies, including reduced rider expectations, more frequent rest breaks, and provision of water and cooling stations. However, these practices varied widely across the industry, with many riders reporting they received no accommodation whatsoever. Rider advocacy groups argued that more comprehensive protections were needed, including guaranteed hourly wages during extreme weather to remove the economic pressure to work in dangerous conditions.
The summer crisis sparked renewed conversation about the broader status of gig workers in Italy’s economy. Labor advocates pointed out that classifying delivery riders as independent contractors rather than employees allows platforms to avoid responsibility for worker welfare during extreme conditions. Several Italian cities have seen growing rider activism, with workers organizing strikes and demonstrations demanding better treatment during heat waves and beyond. Their demands include weather-based hazard pay, the right to refuse deliveries during extreme conditions without penalty, and more transparent algorithms that account for environmental factors. Some legal experts believe Italy’s existing labor framework already provides some protections that platforms are circumventing, while others argue that entirely new regulations are needed for this rapidly evolving sector of the economy.
As climate scientists predict more frequent and intense heat waves across southern Europe in coming years, the experience of Italy’s delivery riders this summer serves as a warning about the intersection of climate change and labor rights. The challenges faced by these workers reflect broader questions about how societies will adapt economic activities to increasingly extreme weather while protecting vulnerable workers. For consumers who have grown accustomed to the convenience of on-demand delivery, this summer offered a reminder of the human cost behind each order. As one rider in Rome told a local newspaper, “People sitting in air-conditioned homes don’t think about who’s bringing their lunch in 40-degree heat.” Moving forward, the treatment of delivery workers during extreme weather may become an important test case for how economies balance convenience, cost, and human welfare in an era of climate change and algorithmic management.
