‘We are again going on the counterattack,’ the union said, invoking last year’s successful campaigns. The announcement recalled the 2021 and 2024 actions that, the union says, helped block more than 100 redundancies, forced a contracting company to withdraw, and secured the direct hiring of some 2,000 couriers by Efood.

The union urged all staff to participate in the stoppages and to present a united front. ‘The effective blocking of production and the participation of each of us in the work stops will give us the strength and legitimacy to proceed with a strike in the immediate future,’ the statement said. During any strike, the union added, it plans street actions, demonstrations outside company offices and demands for negotiations with management.

The statement criticised what it described as the ongoing use of precarious employment models. ‘Our piggy bank is not the same as the multinational’s piggy bank,’ the union said, warning that without mass participation the company will not change its approach.

The union’s list of demands includes:

  • a collective labour agreement with wage increases for all Efood staff (distributors, office, warehouse and market employees);

  • a guaranteed minimum hourly rate, wage rises, occupational-accident coverage and free provision of PPE for freelancers;

  • the direct conversion of freelancers to employees where required;

  • the removal of contracting intermediaries and the hiring of couriers directly by Efood;

  • clear delimitation of pick-up and delivery zones for courier distributors.

The union said the company’s continued development of ‘fleets’ of contracted couriers perpetuates precarious work and illegal practices that the union intends to block. The stoppages are billed as a test of collective strength and a prelude to more sustained industrial action if employers refuse to meet the claims.

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