Rex

Meet Rex, a Nigerian man who works as a food delivery rider in Turin. Labour exploitation is part of his daily experience. Yet, this is one of the very few legal options he has to get a living. The effects of labour exploitation are heavy on health. Both mentally and physically, deterioration advances at a fast pace.

BIKE DELIVERY – A MODERN SLAVERY CONDITION

My name is Rex. I work as a rider in Turin, Italy. I consider myself a person who experiences labour exploitation. This speaks of an unlawful, unjust and unfair treatment of the employee – and is exactly what I live on a daily basis.

I come from Lagos, Nigeria. I arrived in Italy with a fractured humerus. That required surgery and a long period of therapy. After these therapies, I started looking for a job. This came with a lot of pressure since I have many people back home who expect me to send financial support. I needed money, for myself and for my family, but I also wanted to do something legal. The opportunity of working in bike delivery sounded to me like a good one, and I didn’t hesitate to seize it. I was unaware I was giving myself to a modern slavery condition.

“Cold nights, snow, wind, and I was on my bike”

The worst part of the story, however, is the complete indifference of my – let’s put it into many brackets – “employer”, the person from the app we referred to as riders. They just told me to figure it out with the person who knocked me down. They recognized, eventually, that they had to provide some protection material: and this was a black coat, the most invisible item to wear on a dark night. It happened again to be obliged to work in conditions that made me sick. Cold nights, snow, wind, and I was out with my bike, delivering food in private houses.