The Senate floor approved this Thursday (9) a bill that provides for some protection measures for application deliverers during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as payment of financial aid for 15 days to professionals on leave for having been infected by the new coronavirus.
The proposal was symbolically approved by the senators. As it had already received positive approval in the Chamber of Deputies, it goes straight to the sanction of President Jair Bolsonaro.
The project authored by Federal Deputy Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP) provides for a series of measures that must remain in force until the end of the public health emergency. `The proposal, however, had been presented in April of last year, but ended up not making progress in Congress.
The rapporteur in the Senate, Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP), stated that he did not accept amendments to the text precisely because it would result in the proposal returning to the Chamber of Deputies, further delaying the granting of these rights to professionals.
The couriers even protested asking for fairer rates from app companies and help with basic protection items during the coronavirus pandemic.
The text approved by the deputies and now by the senators provides that application companies must “contract accident insurance, without deductible, for the benefit of the delivery person registered therein, exclusively for accidents occurring during the period of withdrawal and delivery of products, which must cover, obligatorily, , personal accident, permanent or temporary disability and death”.
As many couriers work for more than one application, the text establishes that the indemnity to be paid in cases of accidents must be the responsibility of the company for which they are currently providing services.
The bill says that the application company must ensure the delivery person removed by Covid-19 has financial assistance for a period of 15 days, extended for two more periods of 15 days, upon presentation of proof or medical report.
Financial assistance will be calculated according to the average of the last three monthly payments received by the delivery person.
The help is subject to the presentation of proof of positive result for Covid-19, obtained through an RT-PCR test, or a medical report attesting to the absence.
The bill also stipulates that companies must provide couriers with a set of information about the risks of Covid-19 and ways to prevent and prevent the spread of the virus.
In addition, they must provide masks and gel alcohol or other sanitizing material for personal protection — whether delivering the items, through transfers or reimbursement of expenses for this purpose.
The text also provides that companies must adopt ways to seek to avoid contact between couriers and other people during the withdrawal and delivery of products and food. Workers must also be allowed to use the facilities’ toilets and sanitary facilities and have access to potable water.
The text also says that the company providing the product or service must adopt measures so that the delivery person does not have contact with the final consumer.
“During the period established in the caput of this article, the method of payment via the internet must be adopted as a matter of priority by the delivery application company and by the supplier of the product or service”, the text states.
In addition, the contract or registration agreement entered into between the application company and the delivery person must expressly state the cases of blocking, suspension or exclusion of the delivery person from the digital platform.
The application of account exclusion will be preceded by prior notice, with at least three working days, and will be accompanied by the reasons that motivated the decision, which must be substantiated, preserving the security and privacy of the platform user.
“The period provided for in the paragraph of this article does not apply to cases of threat to the security and integrity of the electronic platform, restaurants and consumers, due to suspected criminal offenses provided for in current legislation”, the text states.
Violating companies will receive a warning and a fine of R$5,000 per violation.
The bill also states that the anticipated benefits will not serve as a basis for characterizing the legal nature of the relationship between couriers and delivery application companies.
As Folha showed this Sunday, a study commissioned by the Jair Bolsonaro government to support a new labor reform proposes, among other measures, work on Sundays and prohibiting the recognition of employment relationships between service providers and applications.
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