Labor Day: delivery apps leave 9 out of 10 delivery drivers unprotected

In it International Workers Day It is worrying that, despite recovering the levels of employment prior to the coronavirus, precariousness dominates.
Thus, of the 17.7 million employed Peruvians —623,300 more than in 2019—, 8.4 million work fewer hours and/or receive below-average pay —906,700 more.

We see the most tangible example of job insecurity in mobile delivery and taxi applications, argues Alejandra Dinegro, sociologist and director of the Peru Platforms Observatory.

neglect was normalized

For example, black money clarifies that the distributors do not have any type of insurance, except for the vehicle SOAT that is covered by themselves; added to the fact that 90% have acknowledged not reading the terms and conditions when joining because their need to obtain resources is greater and, therefore, that 90% is not clear about their situation. In other words, 9 out of 10 who work on these platforms feel unprotected.

“They do not know if they are workers or collaborators. They do not have any benefits or access to bathrooms or equipment. Their training is videos on how to serve the client. There is no guidance on safety at work. There is no more,” he commented.

Precariousness not only affects drivers, but also employees. customers. In the event of an emergency —from being run over to sexual assaults, as has been reported in recent years—, companies are not responsible for anything.

For example, in apps like Uber or InDrive, the data of the person seeking to join the taxi service is not personally verified, beyond the fact that they submit criminal and police records.

“That’s why, InDrive allows the person taking the service to set the price. There is a risk situation because the filters are not the most appropriate”, adds the researcher.

You win (but you can lose more)

Luis – who for security reasons prefers not to give his last name – has been working as a delivery boy for five years. On a daily basis he can get between S / 80 and S / 100, depending on the demand. Weekends or holidays is when he has the most work, considering that he is affiliated with all the applications on the market.

At the peak of the pandemic, the Platforms Observatory revealed that 73% of those who provide the delivery Its only source of income is distribution through apps such as Rappi, Orders Now, InDrive or Didi Food. Louis is one of them.

According to the Platform Observatory, it is estimated that there are 100,000 platform drivers in metropolitan Lima alone. Of this universe, 46,000 are dedicated to delivery.

The workday Luis’s, like that of almost all his colleagues, exceeds eight hours. There are days when they are made from 12 to 14 hours. They receive on average for each order between S/1.20 (Orders Now) and S/1.80 (Didi Food), and per kilometer traveled, between S/0.70 and S/0.80. As their rating improves, they access longer routes to bill a few more soles. And on special dates they are given some incentives if they meet a dispatch quota.

It is profitable? Yes, he admits, but in the event of an accident, everything will be on his own. Even, to fill his tank, of the S / 60 that he usually spends, one of the apps offers him a discount of S / 1.50 in Primax.

“We have insurance in quotes, but it is only activated when you are connected to the application carrying an order. If you are out of service and have an accident, it is not worth“adds Luis for this newspaper.

They demand stability

Regarding the nature of his relationship with delivery companies, Luis maintains that they are defined as delivery partners or independent workers because they do not work for the restaurant or the application. “Are intermediaries. A service provider,” she notes.

Collecting the feelings of his colleagues -who are mostly foreigners- he asks that conditions be improved in the event of unforeseen events.

For example, when Pedidos Ya arrived in Peru, it presented flaws in its apps, causing some orders to be cancelled, resulting in a lower rating for the driver. If they make any complaints, there is no office they can approach. By email, the few answers do not solve anything.

In Luis’s opinion, the work in the applications should be regulated because in the face of arbitrary practices by companies —such as reducing the rates for their service, an altercation with a bad client or the aforementioned failures— they do not feel supported.

Government inaction

It is enough that there is a relationship of subordination for a company to be forced to declare to its employees on the payroll, comments the former Vice Minister of Employment, Fernando Cuadros Luque; and, therefore, there is a problem of non-compliance with the regulations.

“The regulation must be applied to them because app workers are not autonomous. They receive a piece rate payment for their service, but it is a daily activity. That does not mean that they are dependents and are on the payroll, as is the case with those in large stores. In the agricultural sector, payment is daily; and in civil construction, weekly”, he pointed out for this newspaper.

For his part, the former Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion, Christian Sanchezassures that “there is no legal vacuum” that companies take advantage of because the law is there for everyone, and already in other countries such as Spain, delivery drivers have been recognized as salaried employees.

The former official reaffirms that thousands of workers are subjected to labor informality, and it would not be necessary to wait for Congress to give them labor benefits, like all formal workers, but to move the appropriate pieces in the MTPE to stop this practice.

Bills stalled in Congress

In mid-2021, PL No. 07567/2020-CR —by the former president of the Labor Commission David Oseda Yucra (frepap)—, which recognized labor rights for delivery app workers, giving them health insurance, one against accidents paid by the employer, 80% or more of what the user pays for a purchase, and personal protection for their functions , as well as the payment of utilities among others. However, it was not approved for a second ballot. Since then, it lies stagnant in Parliament.

Recently, Congresswoman Susel Paredes, with minority opinion No. 018/2021-CR, proposes regulating taxi and delivery companies in general to guarantee the integrity of the parties involved: the client and the worker. For example, the app would assume the consequences before the users of what may happen in the service; train them and provide them with equipment to protect them against accidents. There must be a contract involved.

reactions

Alejandra Dinegro, Director of the Platforms Peru Observatory

“There was expansion in underemployment. People who work longer hours and earn less than the minimum. The drivers do not have any type of insurance. No platform verifies or guarantees anything.”

Christian Sánchez, Former Head of the MTPE

“Delivery workers are workers. You cannot draw a law to determine it because they already are. There is no legal vacuum. Are employees. Judges in other countries have recognized that they are.