Lula splits the baby on gig economy regulation bill

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this week sent Congress a bill proposing new regulations and labor protections for drivers of ride-hailing apps such as Uber. As per the latest Census data, Brazil had 778,000 ride-hailing drivers, including taxi apps.

The bill is the first major initiative of the Lula administration after he launched a so-called Partnership for Workers’ Rights alongside U.S. President Joe Biden back in September 2023, aimed primarily at the gig economy.

The bill proposes a minimum hourly wage of BRL 32.10 (USD 6.48), with the lion’s share going to account for work-related expenses, such as fuel and internet service, and a remaining BRL 8.03 for the driver’s revenue. That is actually higher than what the current federal minimum wage pays per hour — BRL 6.42 (USD 1.30).

The proposed regulation also mandates both companies and drivers to make social security contributions. 

Lula showed he’s very aware of how groundbreaking the bill is. Speaking at a ceremony on food security at the presidential palace on Tuesday, he said the initiative would, for the first time, offer protections to disenfranchised app drivers and made sure to stress that the regulation “seemed impossible” to get over the hump months ago.

The president added that few countries so far have enacted regulations for app drivers — Spain and South Korea, which required platforms to treat gig workers as employees, being exceptions. He then added that his labor minister, Luiz Marinho, should forward the bill’s final draft to “our Biden friend” as a first experience under the agreement on worker’s rights.

The bill covers exclusively drivers of four-wheeled cars working on ride-hailing, leaving out couriers for...