“We must make the most of the job creation potential of digital platforms. But we must also ensure that they are quality jobs, that they do not promote precariousness, so that the people who work in them have security and can plan their future”, Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights of the European Union.
“I love having the freedom to manage my work time, not having to deal with a boss. But it is hard, I have to work like 12 hours a day to be able to get money to pay for the car and family expenses. If I apply myself, it does come out, ”Valentin told me, a driver of a digital application that I had the opportunity to meet a few days ago.
Flexibility is one of the main hallmarks with which digital transport and delivery platforms have been presented to attract people interested in participating in this market. However, the average hours worked, which the ILO estimates at 65 hours per week, and the average wage below that of formal employment show that making this job the main source of income for a family takes it away from flexibility offered.
According to an investigation carried out by the Colegio de México at the request of the government of Mexico City, for eight out of every ten workers, these tasks are their only work activity; and it is not occasional, since for 50% of the drivers and delivery men his work in this market is indefinite.
The debate that has gained space in recent years is what happens to the labor rights of these men and women if they practically work full time for any of the platforms and their algorithms “reward” that loyalty. Are there conditions that could define that they are salaried and not independent workers?
At the national level, the Mexican Institute of Social Security estimates that there are close to 500,000 digital platform workers of delivery and travel, and a pilot program has already been launched to grant them social security as independent workers, but the responsibility lies with the person and not with the company.
The debate has already reached the offices of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare commanded by Luisa María Mayor Luján, from where the alternatives and legal routes that could be explored to address this chapter of the new employment modalities driven by technological transformations are already analyzed.
“The fact of advancing in terms of technology, of new employment modalities, does not have to be accompanied by exclusion in social security, losing protection, losing rights,” said Mayor Luján a few days ago.
Europe goes ahead
In other latitudes, various efforts have been made to regulate the employment relationship through platforms and guarantee rights such as minimum wage, social security and paid vacations for drivers and delivery men. Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have made progress in this regard in recent months.
But the biggest step, and what could become a precedent for a global labor policy in the matter, was taken this week by the European Comission. The agency published a project to regulate work through travel and delivery applications that in a short time could regulate the sector in the 27 nations that make up the European Union (EU). It would be the first block legislation worldwide.
»Check the European Commission project here
Some facts presented to consider the magnitude of this market in the region:
- About 28 million people work on digital platforms in the EU, the vast majority are truly freelancers.
- It is estimated that by 2025 the number of drivers and delivery men will increase to 43 million people.
- Between 2016 and 2020, revenue in the platform economy grew almost five times, going from 3,000 to 14,000 million euros.
What are the parameters to define if there is an employment relationship between the platforms and the drivers or delivery men? The Commission defined five criteria:
- The platform sets the remuneration levels
- There are rules for things like appearance, code of conduct or performance
- Electronic supervision and qualification of services
- Restrictions and sanctions for workers who choose their hours or refuse tasks
- Restriction for workers to generate a network of clients or work for other companies
If the platform meets at least two of those criteria, then it will be presumed that this is an employer and, therefore, the people who work through it will enjoy the labor and social rights that their status as a worker entails.
Those who enter the classification of platform workers They will have the right to a minimum wage, collective bargaining, working hours, health protection, paid vacations, better access to protection against accidents at work, unemployment and sickness benefits, as well as contributory pensions for old age.
The European Commission estimates that the reform could benefit a universe between 1.7 and 4.1 million people that could be considered as workers with full rights. The rest would still be classified as self-employed, as some platforms are expected to adjust their business models accordingly.
These guidelines also regulate the use of algorithms on which digital platforms are based to offer services so that their application is transparent, constantly supervised and that provides guarantees so that workers are always informed about how they are supervised and evaluated.
“The new rules will ensure that people working through digital platforms can enjoy the labor rights and the social benefits to which they are entitled “, is expressed in the document released this Thursday.” They will also benefit from additional protection with respect to the use of algorithmic management (that is, automated systems that help or replace management functions at work)”.
The challenge is not minor, the issue will have to be discussed in the European Parliament, with all the lobbying against part of the digital platforms travel and delivery. If approved, the countries of the region will have two years to adapt their national legislation to this new regulation.
As Nicolas Schmit comments in the appointment that opens this space, the idea is not to tear down the employment model offered by travel and delivery applications, which has undoubtedly been a lifesaver for many people in recent years, but rather that this model of the digital economy is not at the expense of job quality.
Today the debate has intensified due to the European decision to review the issue as a bloc, what will happen in Mexico? The options are three: that the Judiciary issue a jurisprudence that requires the recognition of rights, as happened with domestic workers, but that requires a long process to be followed in court; that the Congress of the Union enters the subject with a reform endorsed by the Executive, or that the platforms alone modify their rules to offer other conditions to their “partners”. Any of them is foreseen within a still long and complicated panorama.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx