The long hours spent hearing collectives of bicycle delivery men, VTC drivers, self-employed workers and trade unions, finally gave birth to a text of law. On the recommendations of the Mettling mission, responsible for laying the groundwork for social dialogue between platform workers and their employers, a order published on April 22 creates a “right to unionism” for VTC drivers and delivery men, who today see their working conditions unilaterally dictated by the platforms and their algorithms.
From 2022, these categories of workers will be able to elect their representatives every two years (then every four years), from the moment when voters can prove that they have had at least three months of service. Voting will be done electronically, according to modalities that remain to be defined.
Professional unions, but also collectives of self-employed workers, may be elected, provided they meet certain criteria (seniority, influence, audience, etc.). The text also creates an Authority for Social Relations of Employment Platforms (ARPE), responsible for supervising the ballot and ensuring the protection of representatives. Thus, the platforms will not be able to arbitrarily break the commercial contract which binds them to elected officials.
Tariffs and algorithms under debate
A first step towards the structuring of social dialogue, greet the unions and collectives who have been fighting for months alongside the workers of the platforms. Without refraining from expressing reservations on the substance of the text. “The ordinance was limited to defining the scope of the elections, without going into the details of the content of the social dialogue., worries Hind Elidrissi, co-founder and spokesperson of Indépendants.co. We should not let the platforms decide on the subjects that will be discussed, such as the color of the delivery bags! “
According to the spokesperson for Indépendants.co, two areas of contention stand out: the prices set unilaterally by the platforms and the obscure operation of the algorithms deciding the races. Jérôme Pimot does not mince his words: the founder of Clap, the collective of autonomous delivery men in Paris, sees this institutionalization of social dialogue as a relative waste of time. “We are turning away from the real subject, namely the working conditions of delivery people. The time to set up the elections and negotiate, they will not see the results for a few years! “
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