Hope, skepticism as B.C. gig-worker regulations come into force

New employment standards for people who work through gig-based apps like Uber, DoorDash, Skip the Dishes and Lyft come into effect in British Columbia on Sept 3. 

While the regulations include a minimum wage of $20.88, workers' compensation coverage, and measures for pay transparency, some gig workers are still skeptical. 

"It's good the legislation is coming, but this is not the legislation we asked for," Kuljeet Singh, an Uber driver in the Metro Vancouver area, said. 

According to the province, the new regulations will set employment standards for the approximately 46,000 ride-hailing and delivery workers in B.C.

Experts say the rules define app-based gig workers under existing B.C. labour laws, and establish a new way for the province to hold apps accountable as employers. Critics say the rules won't mean fair compensation for ride-hailing and delivery workers. 

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vehicle allowance, 'engaged time'

The new regulations establish a 35- to 45-cent minimum per-kilometre vehicle allowance to help workers cover expenses.

Platform companies will be prohibited from withholding or making deductions from tips. They will also be required to register workers for workers' compensation coverage with WorkSafeBC. 

Before September, platforms could send workers assignments without disclosing the trip's destination, or how much they will earn from each trip. Under the new rules, apps will have to provide those details to workers before they accept an assignment. 

Ride-hailing and delivery workers will earn the minimum wage from the time they accept an assignment until it's completed. Under the new rules, it's called "engaged time" — workers don't get paid while they're waiting for an assignment.

"I'm really, really happy that we were able to provide the basic minimum standards that all workers deserve to gig workers," B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains told CBC News Wednesday.

Bains said online platform workers need special regulations because they often choose their own hours, work irregular times and can have multiple employers at one time.

He added the minimum wage for ride-hailing and delivery workers is 20 per cent higher than B.C.'s minimum wage of $17.40 an hour to make up for unpaid time drivers spend waiting for assignments. 

"We crafted these regulations specifically to deal with the ride-hail and food delivery workers because of the uniqueness of their workplaces," Bains said, adding the regulations may continue to change. 

"We'll see what more needs to be done when we look at the data going forward."

'A good start'

Véronique Sioufi, racial and socioeconomic equity researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, says her reaction to the new regulations is mixed. 

She says the new rules define gig workers as employees, giving them some of the same rights as other workers in B.C. 

"The definitions are a good start and establish a base that we can work from in the future," Sioufi said.

"That was a really important breakthrough."

She adds the rules open the door for worker protections for other online gig workers. 

But even with the new regulations, Sioufi says gig workers don't have access to all the benefits of the Employment Standards Act, such as vacation pay, benefits, pensions or employment insurance. She also said it's still not clear if the changes will actually mean more money in gig workers' pockets. 

"The big question will be to see if these measures ensure that platform workers are at least getting a take-home pay that's the legal minimum wage," she said. 

"We're hopeful that this legislation actually opens the door to be able to organize and unionize folks in the [gig work] space," said Pablo Godoy with UFCW Canada, a private-sector union representing Uber drivers across the country.

Godoy said measures like workers' compensation, and a new ability for drivers to raise complaints with the Employment Standards Tribunal contribute to "a robust amount of protections."

"There's still a long way to go, but it creates a new floor for gig workers that was desperately, desperately needed," he said. 

The cost of waiting

Back on the road, Singh isn't hopeful. 

On Tuesday, he spent two hours at Vancouver International Airport waiting to be assigned a passenger. He says he often spends hours waiting for the app to send him a ride request.

Sioufi says drivers often spend between 40 to 60 per cent of their time not engaged. 

The minimum wage of $20.88 doesn't close the gap, says Singh. He says he often works for longer than 13 hours each day.

"Do you think it's safe for us to do these things?" he said. "But we have to do it, because we are not earning well."

He's calling for a cap on the number of drivers an app can hire in one city. He says cutting down on the supply of drivers will mean each one gets more rides, and spends less time waiting. 

"I'm happy at least we are getting, like, the transparency ... and [workers' compensation] is a good thing," he said. "But other than that struggle is same. We are not making enough. I can't survive on engaged time."