Mexico: government drawing up plan to regulate platforms

Luisa María Alcalde, Mexico’s labour minister, told Bloomberg on 20 August that the country’s government is preparing to regulate platform work. The government’s plan, which is to be clarified in the coming months, may consist of a “flexible mechanism” involving the Mexican Social Security Institute that “wouldn’t necessarily require changing the law”, she said, adding however that “modifying the law will be necessary to give clarity to those new activities”. The trade unions, which are making the case for drivers and delivery workers and are demanding that they be involved in the consultations, are hoping for a reform of federal labour law as well as the status of employee. Mexico could therefore be one of the first countries in the world to regulate platform work by law (see our overview). The initiative comes a few months after the move to drastically limit the outsourcing of employees (see article n° 12487), amid tax evasion and non-payment of social security contributions, which has already allowed companies to hire 2.6 million people directly. The labour minister also said that there will be no further delay (beyond the beginning of September) for compliance with the law.