The LCGB trade union has called on the Luxembourg government to create a legal framework to prevent job insecurity in light of the recent taxi reform bill.
Following the adoption of the bill amending taxi legislation to include rental cars with a driver, the LCGB has warned of the misuse of this legislation which could result from the introduction of new types of work into the sharing economy. In order to avoid a proliferation of fake self-employed workers and to guarantee employees' social achievements, the union has demanded the urgent establishment of a precise legal framework on work performed through electronic platforms.
The LCGB warned that, whilst the government provides identical rules for rental cars with a driver companies as those applicable for taxis, the consequent arrival of world leaders, such as Uber, could weaken the working conditions of employees. The establishment of a legal framework would prevent these jobs from becoming more precarious and guarantee the application of the same essential rights for drivers of both traditional taxis and rental cars with a driver. The union maintained that all drivers must have the same conditions of access to social security, particularly in terms of health or unemployment insurance.
The LCGB added that the drivers of rental cars with a driver face additional challenges to traditional taxi drivers, who are covered by a collective agreement. Drivers of the former are interchangeable, face stiff competition and come with fewer guarantees of work. They are often forced to accumulate many hours of work if they wish to ensure a decent income.
The LCGB also called for the strict regulation of such work in order to guarantee compliance with the provisions of the Labour Code and the Social Security Code. The union stressed that this was needed to prevent this phenomenon of individualisation of work, not only in the taxi sector but across the wider economy, thus avoiding a disruption of the social model of the country and ultimately preventing job insecurity.
