Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1313317
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 NOVEMBER 2020 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK ONE of Malta's major entrepreneurs in the field of private transport says the gov- ernment has to act fast to regulate new employment practices that are leading to more so-called 'gig' or 'platform work'. Matthew Bezzina, chief executive of taxi company eCabs, says employment practices in his industry are "a ticking time-bomb", and that the State cannot repeat the mistake it made by delaying legislation. Ride-hailing services like Bolt as well as eCabs are increasingly moving to- wards a platform model, where the company's sole responsibility is that of providing the digital platform that con- nects drivers – who are self-employed to all intents and purposes – to custom- ers. At present eCabs takes on a mix of employed and self-employed drivers, the latter branded as 'partner driv- ers'. "When it was against the law, we wouldn't hire self-employed drivers," Bezzina said, saying that it was only af- ter the public service garage reform was put in place that eCabs started taking in self-employed drivers. Bezzina said that if the company was able to hire self-employed drivers a few years ago, it would have been much more profitable. "It's easier and you can grow quicker, but we resisted it because it was against the law," he said. "Now that it's become law, we're offering it – only those who had been breaking the law enjoyed a competitive advantage of three years." While admitting that the platform work model is highly successful, Bez- zina warns that allowing companies to rid themselves of all administrative and infrastructural costs associated with hiring employees, will only worsen the precariousness of the gig economy and hurt workers. "I agree with the gig economy – it pro- vides flexibility and contract work to those not willing to work a nine-to-five job, but we can't let it grow beyond con- trol and only try to fix it when it starts to hurt vulnerable people," Bezzina said. He acknowledged that an element of precariousness existed among taxi driv- ers, his company being no exception. "I'm not happy about it, I'm doing it, but I'm not breaking the law," he said. And current legislation simply hasn't developed enough to safeguard self-em- ployed workers, he noted. "This is like what happened in the building indus- try. You had major lacunas in the law and people were trying to enforce laws drawn up decades ago." But his tone turned angry as he spoke of competitors operating illegally in the market. "We spent three years oper- ating on an employment model while Cheap taxi: unregulated market drives precariousness Matthew Bezzina says consumers are getting cheaper fares and fast ride-hailing services only thanks to precarious employment practices "The market will continue to promote precarious work, lower prices over high. Ultimately customers want cheaper prices and low waiting times. The only way we can provide this is by hiring self- employed drivers" Matthew Bezzina, eCabs CEO