Uber, iFood and 99: drivers and delivery people want to stay – 04/11/2023 – Market

Most couriers and drivers who worked through the iFood, 99, Uber and Zé Delivery apps between August and November last year are not thinking about changing jobs and are not looking for another type of activity, says research commissioned by the association representing these platforms.

Among drivers, the percentage of those who did not seek another activity varies, and was 54% among those who work exclusively with applications, and 71% among those who accumulated other types of work. In the case of couriers, 66% said they were not looking for a new occupation and 78% said they wanted to continue working with these technology platforms.

The survey “Urban mobility and delivery logistics: an overview of the work of drivers and couriers with applications” was carried out by Cebrap (Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning) for Amobitec (Brazilian Association of Mobility and Technology) and combined interviews with couriers and drivers with administrative data provided by the companies.

The data show some differences in the profile of earnings and working hours made by couriers and drivers. In passenger transport, they work more days a week, on average, and they also achieve higher earnings.

While drivers have an average net income ranging from R$2,925 to R$4,756 for 40-hour workweeks, and from R$926 to R$1,774 for 20 hours a week, couriers earn between R$807 and R$1,325, when they work fewer hours, and from R$1,980 to R$3,039, when they work more.

To arrive at the average net income of these workers, Cebrap considered the hourly wages, defined average maintenance costs, the number of weeks in the month and also the percentages of idleness, that is, the time the worker remains active. in the app, but does not receive rides or deliveries.

André Porto, executive director of Amobitec, says that the estimate of workers’ net earnings is the main differential of this survey, since this was, traditionally, “a difficult question to answer”.

From this intersection, Cebrap concluded that, among couriers, income is concentrated between one and three minimum wages – 22% receive between 2 and 2.5 wages, and 21%, between 1.5 and 2. In the case of drivers , 31% earn three to six minimum wages.

The research also points to a predominance in the exclusivity of the activity intermediated by apps, especially among drivers. In passenger transport, 63% said they work only with them at the moment.

This exclusivity also appears in the workday, which is around 4.2 days a week, on average, with a journey that ranges from 22 to 31 hours a week.

Among couriers, the exclusive work is smaller, but still reaches the majority. According to the survey, 52% work only with deliveries. The working day is 3.3 days a week.

In the evaluation of the Amobitec executive, the data show the importance of flexibility in the relationship with workers. The survey did not ask drivers and couriers if this was a determining factor in their continued activity.

However, in the interpretation of the association, flexibility appears in the possibility of the worker accumulating rides and deliveries with other activities.

What the workers in these apps have in common, according to the survey, is male predominance and also education, since most have completed high school (59% among couriers and 60% for drivers).

They also declare themselves mainly black and brown. The percentage among couriers is 68%, and is 62% among drivers.

The number of workers working through these platforms is similar to that estimated by Ipea (Institute of Applied Economic Research) in a study released in February. According to Cebrap, around 1.660 million workers work through the applications.

Most of this contingent, 1.274 million, is in passenger transport.

Cebrap interviewed 1,507 couriers and 1,518 drivers by telephone between August and November of last year and, according to the institute, the confidence of the data is 95% and the sampling error is 2.5%.

The data from the survey commissioned by Amobitec will be taken to the federal government, which is in the process of formalizing a working group to discuss the regulation of these activities. For companies, the most important thing is to bar the obligation to formalize.

“The research confirms our hypotheses that this is a new model and that the CLT [Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho]as it is structured, does not suit this model “, says André Porto, from Amobitec. The apps argue that the new model includes social security coverage, which entitles you to benefits such as aid, retirement and pension for death.

The obligation to formalize via the CLT is not a consensus among workers – only the motoboy unions defend the recognition of the employment relationship. More than the formal bond, these workers have demanded increases in minimum values ​​and clearer rules for blocking, for example.

Rosimar Juvenal Pereira, 49, has been using transport apps to work as a driver since 2016, when he delivered the taxi he drove for more than 20 years. For him, the flexibility of defining working hours is the greatest advantage of this type of activity.

“Having freedom is very good. I need to go to the doctor or the bank, I just hang up and go, I don’t need to justify it to anyone”, he says.

Autonomy, in his assessment, ends there. “I can’t define everything else. I can’t keep refusing races, I can’t define the value, I can’t define where I want to work. I consider myself an employee, yes”, he says.

Pereira points out, however, that any regulation that obliges registration in the portfolio will have an impact on everyone. “Any charge on the company can interfere with our transfer and, the way things are today, that cannot happen.”