Spain's delivery workers risk health for little profit

The coronavirus lockdown in Spain has exposed the plight of some of the country's most vulnerable workers - members of the so-called gig economy who only get paid if work comes their way. Bikers delivering takeaway meals amid the lockdown say they fear for their health, but can't afford to stop working.

While most people stay off the streets of Barcelona, dozens of bikers were waiting outside restaurants by the Sagrada Familia cathedral on Tuesday night.

Many were waiting for a food delivery order to come up on their phones.

23-year-old Guillermo, from Colombia, who declined to give his last name fearing reprisal by the delivery app he works with, spoke about his precarious working conditions.

Guillermo always wears a surgical mask and gloves, but still fears getting infected with the new coronavirus as he delivers food to residents hunkered at home under a state of emergency.

Riders usually charge between four aper order, but must pay taxes as autonomous workers, an insurance required by the delivery platforms and maintenance of the vehicles they use to deliver, usually a motorbike, bicycle or scooter.

While some customers track Guillermo's movements through the Deliveroo app and wait for him outside their buildings so he doens't have to enter their homes, many do not.

Guillermo is now using his elbows to ring door bells and call elevators. He also tries to drop the meals a meter away from his clients, but he still risks catching the virus while working.

The food delivery business is not as profitable as he expected it to be in a city under lockdown, and Guillermo wonders if he is risking too much for little in return.

Despite being allowed to keep their kitchens open for delivery orders only, the majority of restaurants in Barcelona have shut down completely, limiting orders on popular food apps like Glovo, Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

But if Guillermo were to stay at home for a few days, the company's app algorithm would register his absence and put him at the end of the queue of riders waiting to get deliveries assigned.

Despite working through the lockdown, Guillermo said the money he is making on Deliveroo these days barely covers the costs that come with being an autonomous worker in Spain.

"I don't know how this will end," he said before riding off on his bike to another restaurant in the hope of getting an order.