Labor reform for Uber and Didi drivers and delivery drivers: They see opacity in accident insurance.

The labor reform for digital platform workers is not clear on how and who will pay insurance premiums, in addition to the rules issued with Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) to calculate their net income will leave many of the drivers and delivery drivers out of social security, specialists said.

"We have to see if digital platform workers who are going to be incorporated into the social security system are going to have access to benefits in money or in kind, if they are going to be for a day, in a time of incapacity, how are they going to receive this subsidy?" they asked. In addition to the fact that companies will also have a high accident rate, due to the nature of these jobs", explained Santiago Villanueva, a specialist in Social Security Law.

The labor reform, which went into effect on June 23 and whose pilot test will start next July 1, contemplates that workers who generate at least one minimum monthly salary will have access to social security related to labor risks such as medical coverage, leaves of absence and indemnities for occupational accidents and illnesses, as well as medical attention and economic support for illnesses and maternity.

In a first and second phase, workers will have to exclude from their monthly net income the type of vehicle they use for work. Last Friday, June 27, the general provisions that establish how the Net Monthly Income (INM) of digital platform workers will be calculated were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation. This calculation will be the basis for determining whether a worker is entitled to IMSS and how much the platforms and the worker himself/herself must pay to cover his/her social security.

"We regret that a scheme of exclusions has been established that, in fact, limits access to social security for thousands of workers. Although there are now public and defined criteria, the establishment of these percentages is done knowing that thousands of workers (from Uber and Didi, for example) will be left out of the insurance system, particularly those who are in more precarious conditions," criticized the National Union of Workers by Application (UNTA) in a statement.

The new law includes disability and life insurance as a pension or compensation for permanent disability and protection for family members in the event of death, as well as the benefit of unemployment at an advanced age and old age and access to childcare and social benefits.

The reform does not specify any regulation related to the work tools of delivery drivers and drivers such as automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, cell phones, backpacks and cargo boxes, among others.

"If the worker brings his motorcycle, it is not part of his salary, in any case we have to see if the company is going to grant some tools, although that would change the whole scheme," said Villanueva.