It’s been more than two years since the death of Ajay Shrestha, Nepalese digital platform food courier, at Marsa in a traffic accident. After his death, writing in these columns about digital platform food couriers I have discussed whether their work conditions could be more described as digital slave labour (TMIS: Platform work: digital slave labour? 7 August 2022).
They have now been joined by digital platform cab-drivers.
Towards the end of February, Y-plate drivers took part in a public demonstration to effectively emphasise that digital platform work does not pay adequately. Their clear message was that the income that they have left after taking into consideration expenses and commissions retained by the digital platform management is peanuts, not sufficient for living.
The problem of precarious working conditions of digital platform workers is not limited to Malta. In fact, the European Union is currently debating a directive on the working conditions of digital platform workers. The impact assessment on the proposed EU Directive published by the EU Commission three years ago had identified that a number of those working through digital platforms faced poor working conditions and in particular inadequate access to social protection.
From what has been publicly stated by local digital platform workers it is clear that they are continuously facing precarious working conditions. Precarious meaning uncertainty and consequently socially unsafe.
In the past months it was the turn of the food couriers. It is now the turn of the cab drivers to publicly explain their plight.
On food couriers we had learnt that the food courier platform operators, in addition to the delivery charges, they are also paid substantial commissions from the food outlets which they serve. Commissions which do not end up in the pockets of the food couriers but in the bank accounts of the digital platform operators!
Digital platform cab drivers have informed us that the rate charged to consumers does not reflect their substantial expenses, ranging from car insurance to social insurance. To which one must add the recent introduction of various Transport Malta conditions in order to renew their Y-plate licences.
Why should we keep tolerating this modern digital slave labour? Some form of basic social regulation of the sector is long overdue. These working men and women are providing us with a service through which we should ensure they should be earning a decent living.
Digital platform workers are falsely classified as self-employed persons. As a result of this misclassification of their employment status they tend to lose various social rights and protections. These include rights relative to working time, minimum wage (including the statutory bonus payable in June and December), paid annual leave, paid sick leave, parental leave and occupational health and safety protection.
The “attractive” low rates which digital platforms charge for their services are generally reflective of all this. In the 21st century this is not acceptable. The way forward requires a regulatory intervention of the state to ensure that digital platform operators act decently and move away from precarious working conditions.
We owe it to the digital platform workers providing us with a service.
Carmel Cacopardo is a former Chairperson of ADPD