Uber Technologies is in talks with the Mexican government about ways to contribute to Social security On behalf of its contractors without assigning full employees to them.
“These conversations should be based on trying to maintain self-employment flexibility, while recognizing that self-employment needs to improve,” said Andrew MacDonald, Uber’s senior vice president of mobility.
These statements came after the Minister of Labor said, Luisa Maria MayorMexico, he said, is evaluating how workers’ conditions are regulated in a cooperative economy, known as a “gig.” He said on August 19 that the country was working with the Mexican Social Security Institute and Mexico City authorities on a plan.
Drivers, delivery drivers, and others in the sharing economy typically work through their smartphones and are viewed by app companies as contractors, without entitlement to all the benefits and protections that full-time employees enjoy. The companies say this agreement means workers can be their bosses and take jobs at their convenience.
“The conversation we want to have with the government is, what benefits can we get? How can we help support the Social Security system while maintaining a working model for contractors and users?” MacDonald said in an interview on Monday.
He said the company is looking at different ways to do this, such as social security contributions for individual workers or per trip. “There are many ways to make this work,” he said.
App contractors around the world have pushed for more protections, leading Uber in the UK to recognize drivers as employed, an intermediate category that gives them a minimum wage and a limited number of other benefits. In Spain, the Ministry of Labor has promised to give workers in the cooperative economy access to the social security system.
MacDonald noted that Uber also wants to expand its business in southeastern Mexico, and has already launched an Uber taxi in Oaxaca and plans to start operating soon in Chiapas.
“Creator. Devoted pop culture specialist. Certified web fanatic. Unapologetic coffee lover.”