June 23rd is the Deadline: The legal deadline for implementing the reform that recognizes labor rights for riders and drivers of digital platforms.
As thousands of riders navigate city streets delivering orders under the spring sun, the official clock ticks towards a crucial date: June 23rd. This is when the new chapter of the Federal Labor Law (LFT) comes into effect, granting labor rights to riders and drivers of digital platforms—a historic legislative achievement now facing its biggest test: transitioning from paper to reality.
The Reform’s Impact
- Platform Accountability: Companies like Uber, DiDi, and Rappi must assume the role of employers, establish formal contracts, disclose their algorithmic management policies, and pay social security contributions to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
- Gradual Access Criteria: All workers will be protected against workplace accidents during their trips. Those earning monthly wages equal to or greater than the minimum salary—around 8,300 pesos currently—will enjoy full labor rights, including healthcare, bonuses, vacations, retirement savings, and profit-sharing.
The Challenge: Despite the 180-day implementation period from promulgation (ending late June), progress signs are scarce three months out. The IMSS, responsible for setting up a registration program, has provided few details, only mentioning ongoing base definitions.
Digital platform companies, previously resistant to any form of regulation, have again requested “dialogue,” despite numerous meetings with the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STPS) before the reform’s discussion. The STPS maintains a low profile, lacking clear public leadership on the issue.
The concern is significant: indications suggest companies may attempt to delay or reinterpret the reform, promoting voluntary “independent worker insured” models that do not imply employer responsibility and shift all burden onto riders or drivers. The risk? This reform could end up being symbolically victorious but ineffective, with Mexico potentially having advanced legislation on paper, yet practical conditions of precarity persist.
The clock is ticking. At stake is not just the fate of over 650,000 people working in these platforms nationwide but once again, the ability to translate laws into effective policies. Without proper implementation, rights on paper mean little in practice.
A historic reform is not enough; it must be operational, effective, and monitored. Because, as always in labor matters, a right unenforced does not exist. Until then, riders continue their deliveries under the same sun, without the rights they theoretically possess.
