He Parliament discusses two bills aimed at regulation of work on digital platforms such as Uber, OrdersNow either Cabify, which have become very popular in recent years. One was presented by Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS)while the other is from Broad Front (FA)but both aim to extend the labor protection of those who maintain employment ties through these to applications in Uruguay; although the opposition points out that the official project “falls short” on these issues.
In parallel to the popularization of digital service platforms, whether transportation or delivery, both nationally and internationally, the debate on how to regulate the activities carried out through them and, particularly, the people who work with the applications grew. In that sense, it became central to give more labor and social protection to digital platform workers who, according to them, do not have basic health coverage. social Security and work long hours with changing schedules with no guarantee of having a minimum income.
Likewise, these workers claim that companies do not assume their obligations, since they consider that their employees are self-employed with those who do not have a dependency relationship.
In this context, Uruguay It also joins the debate on regulation, with two bills on this matter.
“A fair project”
The deputy of Colorado Party María Eugenia Roselló She has become one of the main spokespersons in defense of the official project. “The bill that we intend to approve in the Labor Legislation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies defines the concept of digital platform and talks about computer programs and procedures of companies, regardless of where they are established,” he explained, in dialogue with Ambit.
“For us it is very important, not only because the bill proposed by the Executive power regulates the working conditions, precisely trying to make them fair, decentralized and secure, but also because, today, these people have nothing. So it is important to be able to move forward in a legal framework that gives protection to these workers,” added the legislator, belonging to the sector Citizens.
“Those who work for these applications are mostly self-employed workers who open, for example, a sole proprietorship and are considered ‘partners’ of the platform, dividing profits with the company for the services. And in this regime the company usually distances itself from Laboral obligations that correspond to the pattern. They insist on that, that there is no dependency relationship”, he clarified.
Regarding the details of the initiative, Roselló explained that the project manages a workload of 48 hours per week for the same digital platform, with a daily workday of 8 hours. Regarding the worker’s remuneration, this could be set both by working time and by production or piecework, respecting the national minimum wage. The text prohibits remuneration from being affected by discounts and withholdings linked to the “risks inherent to the activity”; and, in addition, includes coverage of State Insurance Bank (BSE) in case of accidents.
Refering to social Security, Self-employed workers must register with the Social Security Bank (BPS)being able to choose, opt for the regime of monotribute or by another of those provided for in current regulations
“For us it is a fair project that ensures that working conditions are decent and safe, that establishes these workers outside of the dependency relationship as self-employed workers and enshrines typical rights of the dependent worker,” Roselló concluded.
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Question the algorithms
For its part, the project of Wide Front proposes to go “further,” incorporating legal concepts such as the “protective principle” and the “primacy of reality,” he told Ambit the deputy of People’s Victory Party (PVP), Daniel Gherard.
“The protective principle speaks of the fact that the parts are not equal and therefore we must have a partial view in that sense to balance. The primacy of reality is an idea that reflects that, beyond what some papers or some assumptions say, reality is what determines what the conditions are,” explained the legislator.
For Gherard, “piecework is a very old way of working combined with something very contemporary, which is the virtual spaces”, resulting in “detriment to workers.”
The opposition project also includes a section on the specific working conditions of delivery drivers. delivery apps Of foods. “They are there delivering in any weather condition, in a hurry because the algorithms They also encourage this to be able to have a good score, which is also essential to be able to choose the schedules. Because they do not just choose when to work, but rather they need to be well ranked to be able to work in the “most profitable hours”said the Frente Amplista deputy.
“What our project does is give workers the possibility, in some way, to question or ask to be explained in person, in writing, decisions that in principle are made by algorithms. When the Platform can do so many things for you , sanction you, put you on pause, cancel something that you had started, even fire you or sign you off, it is important that workers can know why, that they can say ‘no, but this was not like that’, or that they can explain in “What circumstances did they do such a thing that warranted the algorithm deleting them,” he elaborated on the matter.
According to Gherard, “today we have a kind of ‘algorithm totalitarianism’with a lack of transparency towards workers, which really dehumanizes the task.”
Finally, the legislator placed the discussion on the dependent character of these workers as the most important aspect of differentiation with the Executive’s project. “Using the criterion of reality and that it is good that the legal framework corresponds to practice, we establish that they are dependent workers. Therein lies the most important difference between the two projects,” he noted.
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Source: Ambito
