Brasilia - The National Congress, digital transportation and delivery service platforms, and companies in the commerce sector have declared the "death" of the bill regulating app-based work in the country, following a government retreat on the eve of the vote in the Chamber of Deputies, which was scheduled for Tuesday, April 14.
Therefore, the issue is likely to be revisited only if the government puts forward its own proposal, that is, one from the Executive branch. And even if it submits a text to the Legislature before the elections, the resumption of the discussion would still depend on the political landscape.
In the event of a defeat of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's (PT) reelection project, it would also be unlikely that the Executive branch would want to get involved in the matter, according to sources who participated directly in the project's negotiations.
"The bill will not move forward and has returned to square one. We will wait to see if the government sends a new project," Congressman Augusto Coutinho (Republicanos-PE), who was the rapporteur for the bill in a special committee in the Chamber of Deputies, told NeoFeed .
"Since the government doesn't want it to move forward, let them send a bill now. The lack of regulation is now their responsibility," he added.
Coutinho and the Speaker of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), had reached an agreement to put the report to a vote this week. The idea was to vote on it by tomorrow, both in the committee on the bill and in the plenary session. But the government leader in the House, José Guimarães (PT-CE), requested that the text be removed from the agenda.
Coutinho also mentioned that the Ministries of Social Security and Labor were aligned in their support for the text, particularly regarding the social protection measures contained in the bill. "For the worker it was fantastic, but it was cheap populism from the government."
There is an estimated R$ 8 billion in annual revenue from the potential inclusion of these workers in the Brazilian social security system, according to calculations made by economist José Roberto Afonso of Finance Consultoria.
The inclusion of approximately 2.5 million workers in the social security system also pleased the Ministry of Finance, according to NeoFeed . Ending informal employment for delivery drivers and truck drivers was one of the objectives of the new law.
"The project is dead, forget about it," said a source involved in the negotiations surrounding the project in recent weeks.
Behind the retreat, the biggest opponent within the government was Minister Guilherme Boulos (General Secretariat). He refused to budge on a fixed value of R$ 10 per ride, higher than what the rapporteur agreed to set in all versions of his report presented since last year.
In his latest opinion, released last week, Coutinho maintained the R$ 8.50 fare for short-distance rides and also proposed an alternative remuneration method: per hour worked, which pleased the platforms and secured some support for the vote, even with resistance still present on certain points of the text.
In a video released on Tuesday morning, the 10th, on his social media, Boulos stated that the government did not support the bill for five reasons: it excluded the minimum wage of R$ 10 per ride and also left a "loophole" for platforms to pay by time; it did not guarantee a 30% night shift bonus for trips and additional pay for Sundays and holidays; the proposal maintains as a "trade secret" how the apps distribute deliveries and rides; it keeps secret the amount charged to the customer and the amount owed to the worker; and it does not provide for support points for drivers and delivery people to shower, rest, and charge their cell phones.
“The Lula government does not support the final version of PLP 152 because it simply does not address the main demands of the category,” Boulos stated. “We will continue to stand alongside Uber drivers and iFood delivery workers in the fight for dignified work and better pay.”
Companies on foot
Fernando de Paula, director of institutional relations at the National Association of Restaurants (ANR), says he regrets that the project was not voted on, after almost three years of discussion with the government, platforms and business owners, in addition to a working group and intense processing in Congress.
According to him, the lack of regulation for app-based work creates a vacuum in Brazilian legislation and leaves uncovered a sector associated with technology (delivery services) that depends on constant innovation.
According to de Paula, in the case of restaurants, for example, delivery services have characteristics of flexible working hours and do not fit the traditional CLT (formal employment contract) model.
"The project was well-developed, but due to a decision by the government, which we don't quite understand, they decided to withdraw support for the text. It's a huge disappointment," he says.
"I believe it will be difficult to resume this bill from where it is now, but what cannot happen is for the market to continue without labor regulation."
ANR, along with other business entities in the sector, recently signed a manifesto in favor of approving the bill presented by Congressman Augusto Coutinho.
Paulo Solmucci Júnior, executive president of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel), believes that, even with the retreat from the Presidential Palace, there is still room for political negotiation to save the approval of the bill, provided that some points in the text are corrected. He also said that he will meet with rapporteur Augusto Coutinho to discuss a way to keep the bill alive.
“With the withdrawal of government support, if we remove the charge per delivery and focus on hourly [delivery], provide social security and accident insurance, everything is in place for the process to be approved,” he considered. “We haven’t given up.”
