Councilor Luana Alves (PSOL), from the São Paulo City Council, sent this week calls for representatives of companies that would have been hired by iFood to demobilize deliverymen’s demonstrations to be heard at the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of Applications, a commission that investigates the employment status of app developers, as well as contracts and tax payments for these companies.
According to a report by Agência Pública, the delivery app would have hired two companies —Benjamim Comunicação and Social Qi— to mount action strategies on social networks, with the creation of fake profiles that criticized movements such as the Breque dos Apps, launched in July. 2020 to claim better working conditions.
According to Pública, the campaign also spread suspicion about the motivations for demonstrations by groups of couriers.
The Public Ministry of Labor also received this Thursday (7) a representation sent by federal deputy Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP), asking that the case be investigated. According to the labor prosecutor, an initial investigation procedure will be opened. Then, if the prosecutor deems it necessary, initiates a civil inquiry.
Report shows campaign to demobilize couriers
According to Pública, documents show that the two agencies created profiles on social networks to, through memes and jokes, raise doubts about the legitimacy of the delivery men’s demonstrations.
These profiles also appeared countering publications favorable to the protests and infiltrated discussion groups and pages.
The campaign organized by the companies would have started after the first Braque dos Apps, a national demonstration that, during one of the most critical phases of the pandemic, asked for the supply of alcohol gel, an increase in the value of minimum fees and better working conditions.
According to a report by Pública, one of those affected by the campaign was Paulo Lima —known as Galo—, leader of the Antifascist Deliverers group that gained prominence during the Breque. He is quoted in a video in which an employee of one of the agencies claims that she “killed the Rooster”, insinuating that he had political motivations. The woman says he would be a candidate.
On Twitter, Galo says that his support base was not ready for a candidacy and that this would be fundamental for him to make that decision. “I confess that what caught my attention was their fear of delivery men going this way,” he said on the social network.
Delivery workers say they suspected infiltration
According to councilor Luana Alves, who convened the agencies, there are indications of an articulated demobilization strategy and that the positions against Breque were not spontaneous.
“Criticism was aimed at discrediting those who appeared to be organized leaders, but we had no evidence of authorship”, says the parliamentarian.
couriers heard by sheet say that since the first demonstrations, in 2020, there was suspicion that delivery companies (not just iFood) were critical of the movements and had infiltrated groups and conversation pages.
The level of organization reported in the Pública report surprised the delivery people. “We were very suspicious, but we didn’t imagine it would be at that level, just to demobilize and make sure we don’t fight”, says Edgar Francisco da Silva, aka Gringo, president of Amabr (Association of Applications and Self-Employed Motofretistas of Brazil) .
Gringo says that the conviction that there was money financing actions was formed during a protest in Pacaembu, in April 2021, whose agenda would be the priority in vaccination against Covid-19.
According to the report by Pública, the claim was fabricated by the digital content agency hired by iFood.
“When we got there, the guys had stickers, some banners, everything was very well done. There was even a sound car. Once we tried to rent one and it came to R$ 5,000. Stickers are expensive to make. We mobilize with 5,000 motorcycle and can’t rent a truck. It was very strange”, he says.
Delivery man Ralf Elisário, owner of the Ralf MT channel on Youtube and who is seen as a leader, says he was the first to denounce that the Não Breca Meu Trampo page on Facebook would be financed by delivery companies. According to a report by Pública, the profile was created within the strategy contracted by iFood to demobilize delivery workers.
“iFood would rather spend money on companies to get in the way of couriers than pay couriers more.”
After the App Breakdown of July 1, 2020, couriers remained mobilized and tried to hold new large-scale demonstrations, but did not achieve the same level of mobilization as the first.
The page was created on July 9, 2020, just over a week after Breque. In one of his publications, he defends that “the majority of motoca” “prefer to work for different companies, without a formal contract.”
The demand for a formal contract is not a consensus among couriers, but it is unanimous among companies: they are against the possibility of motorcyclists being considered their employees.
Another youtuber, who identifies himself only by the nickname “Prince of Delivery”, says that Pública’s revelation “changes 100% the relationship with iFood”.
The influencer, who does not consider himself a leader among delivery people, was one of those invited by the application to a forum held at the end of last year. Now, he says he doesn’t want to talk to the company.
“It’s a dirty trick. They call us partners, and I ask you, is that a partner thing? It’s not.”
Councilwoman points out discrepancy in data provided by iFood
Councilwoman Luana Alves also claims to have found a discrepancy between the data sent by iFood to the CPI and those published in the Público report.
According to her, in the documents sent by the company, it is stated that most professionals work on the platform only partially and do not have deliveries as their main source of income. On average, couriers would work six hours a day, according to documents sent to the commission of inquiry.
“The data that the agency [citada pela Pública] usa do not match the data that iFood sent us regarding the hours worked and the time each one is logged in. For the CPI, it is very important that they explain this to us.”
The CPI of the São Paulo Chamber started working in October 2021 and, initially, would only deal with individual transport, but ended up including delivery platforms as well.
The commission has two main arms, one that deals with collecting taxes and municipal fees, and another that tries to define parameters for professionals. In the latter, Luana Alves says that parliamentarians want to ensure that delivery people and drivers do not work exhausting journeys.
OTHER SIDE: iFood says it has not hired a campaign
In a statement, iFood says that it has never had a commercial relationship with Social QI, and “reaffirms that its institutional communications are carried out only through its official channels, and that it does not condone the generation of false information, automation of publications through the use of robots or purchase of followers.”
The company claims, on its website, to have started an internal investigation into the matter and denies having hired agencies to demobilize couriers.
iFood did not respond if it currently works with agencies mentioned in the Pública report or if it has already contacted the participants of the National Courier Forum.
THE sheet could not locate representatives of the agencies cited by Pública. Benjamin Comunicação does not have a website or public telephone. A member of the company was contacted through the social work network LinkedIn, but did not respond.
At Social Qi, no one answered the phone this Thursday (7). The link to contact via WhatsApp, available on the company’s website, is disabled.
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