Wednesday 17th November 2021
Court judges in Berlin
Works council elections for gorillas may take place
Despite possible errors in the electoral process: The labor court in Berlin clears the way for the employees of the Gorillas delivery service for a works council election. The fast-growing startup still has an opportunity to torpedo the project.
The works council election at the Berlin startup Gorillas can take place as planned in the coming week. That was decided by the capital’s labor court. Although there may have been errors in the electoral process, these were not enough to interrupt the election, the court said. If there are grounds for contestation, the Gorillas delivery service would have to contest the works council election later, according to judge Michael Ernst. The decision is not yet final.
The company wanted to stop the election planned for November 22nd to 27th with immediate effect. It had argued, among other things, that in view of the recent restructuring, the electoral board was not responsible for the employees who were called to vote. The delivery service has had a dispute about working conditions for months. According to a spokeswoman, dozens of proceedings are pending at the Berlin Labor Court.
The dispute was triggered by the dismissal of a so-called rider in the summer of this year because he was late for his shift. “Yes, I was 45 minutes late that day,” said Santiago Rojas at the time of the “BZ”. But he also gave notice in good time and apologized. A Gorillas spokesman confirmed to the newspaper in July: “This week, following cases of gross misconduct, the decision was made to terminate an employee’s contract within the probationary period.” Rojas is said to have worked for the company since January. The protesting workforce called for the termination to be withdrawn and for the probationary period to be reorganized. But that never happened.
Gorillas always emphasizes that they take criticism seriously and that they have already improved many points. According to a spokeswoman, dozens of proceedings are pending at the Berlin Labor Court. On Tuesday evening, a number of people in Berlin-Kreuzberg took part in a “solidarity demonstration” with the workers of gorillas. According to the police, at least 350 people took part in the announced action.