The debate on the legal recognition of delivery drivers and drivers by application as subordinate workers, it was extended to the local legislative agenda and the Congress of Mexico City (CDMX) will incorporate the regulation of these new work modalities into its list of issues.
“Mexico City was the first city in Latin America to regulate the services of these platforms. As pioneers in the regulations on these new labor platforms, it is up to the deputies of the Congress of Mexico City to continue with the efforts to guarantee the labor rights of all and all workers, “said local deputy Isabel Rosales Herrera, president of the Committee on Labor, Labor and Social Welfare Affairs.
During the forum Workers by application: towards the recognition of our labor rights in the Congress of Mexico City, the capital authorities agreed that the denial of the working relationship What digital platforms do with drivers and delivery men translates into the denial of rights and precariousness of their activities.
“There are those who still do not consider it as a job or it is a complement, but it is not, at least in more than 80% of people who carry out this activity. Today it is undeniable that we have millionaire platforms and we have precarious people, impoverished people and in a situation of permanent risk in the public space, ”said José Luis Rodríguez Díaz de León, head of the CDMX Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (STyFE).
According to a study by the STyFE and the Colegio de México (Colmex), workers per application work more than nine hours a day, as a full time activity. The 30% who have social security is because they have another job or are insured by a family member.
“Derived from the analysis itself, there are those who consider that what is appropriate is just a federal reform, but it must be remembered that the City Congress today has the powers to present initiatives before the Union Congress, that part is very important . The result of this forum will surely have a direct impact, ”said Rodríguez Díaz de León.
In this sense, Deputy Marce Fuente assured that the fourth industrial revolution, characterized by accelerated technological development, has given rise to new work dynamicsor in which the employment relationship is unknown.
The demands of the sector
Last November 3 was an emblematic day in terms of work, not only because of the entry into force of the second stage of implementation of the 2019 labor reform, but also because that same day an international strike of workers was carried out for applications to which delivery drivers and drivers from Mexico joined.
Between the demands of this workforce There is the payment of a base salary, the provision of work equipment, the maintenance of equipment and supplies such as vehicles and backpacks, payment for overtime and holidays, insurance against accidents and medical expenses, paid sick leave, maternity or paternity, waiting points for workers equipped with bathroom, dining room, parking and cell phone charging points, among other aspects that workers request to guarantee their access to decent work.
And it is that being qualified by the applications themselves as “Partners”, “Service providers” or “self-employed workers”, some of the problems that delivery men and drivers face is that they do not have guaranteed income due to a disability, they must put the work tools such as bicycles, motorcycles and vehicles and take charge of their maintenance, and they do not have social security and legal benefits.
Various studies by international and private organizations have shown that behind the autonomous work that the delivery men and drivers supposedly carry out there are some subordination criteria; for example, the penalty for rejecting trips or deliveries, the impediment to set the cost of the service, the protocol or guidelines that the worker must follow while providing the service, the qualification system, among other elements.
Legislative interest increases
A new initiative was registered in the Senate of the Republic to legally recognize the delivery men and drivers as employees of applications such as Uber, Didi, Beat or Rappi and, therefore, guarantee their labor rights.
Senator Gilberto Herrara Ruíz de (Morena) presented a bill to reform the Federal Labor Law, recognizing as an employment relationship the activities carried out by delivery men and drivers and, likewise, adding a new chapter to have a specific regulation.
The legislator’s proposal prohibits platforms from considering activities as a civil or commercial relationship and, at the same time, limit access to work based on the number of services, exercise control over the provision of the service and unilaterally disconnect workers for more than 72 hours, an action that would be classified as unjustified dismissal.
“Any contract, clause or regulation that contravenes the provisions of this chapter, or seeks to limit or ignore them, will be considered null and void and consequently non-existent”, is established in Article 330-P that makes up the proposal.
Herrera Ruíz indicated in his project that the services provided exist thanks to the platform and, therefore, the delivery men and drivers They are not the ones who build the clientele, nor do they freely set their rates and the conditions under which they will carry out the activity.
“Regardless of the type of digital work If it is carried out, it must be considered that these workers have the same rights as those who carry out work without using digital platforms ”, the legislator pointed out.
With this project, the second promoted by the majority party in the Senate, the Congress of the Union accumulates seven initiatives in the same sense, most of these are registered in the Upper House.
Although some have a more complete regulation, they all agree on one thing: work on digital platforms should be recognized as a formal employment relationship.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx