The TVDE Movement National Association (ANM-TVDE) defended today, in parliament, the implementation of a “multiplier system” in the TVDE sector when reviewing the current law, in order to safeguard the activity.
“Without a multiplier there is no way to regulate the sector. Currently, the driver works at a rate that does not support the costs of the operation”, said Vítor Soares, who was speaking at the parliamentary committee on Infrastructure, Mobility and Housing.
According to him, the platforms “put and dispose of the value” of trips.
With the mandatory multiplier, drivers will be able to define their value for work, establishing minimum and maximum values per kilometers and time, protecting the income of drivers and partners, explained Vítor Soares, giving as an example the system adopted in France.
In France, he explained, the driver works with a multiplier, establishes the margin “in which he intends to work” and stops “dumpling”. [vender o serviço a preço muito baixo]”.
Vítor Soares also highlighted that ANM-TVDE has been “clarifying and exposing the sector’s difficulties, listing them over the last four years”, and insisted on the need for the current legislation to be changed.
The person responsible also addressed the issue of what he called “surrogacy” in the sector, with “companies operating on a lending basis”, some of which “without any type of investment that recover profitability due to having an advantage in turnover”.
For Vítor Soares, it is also necessary to identify the vehicle with a holographic seal, as in the current law 45/2018 “the only thing that is not licensed is the vehicle”.
“TVDE is not bad, it needs regulation. If there are too many vehicles, it’s the investors’ fault, not the platforms”, he said, also speaking about the need for micro companies to be defended.
Still according to the person responsible, there are 34 thousand TVDE vehicles in Portugal, but it is not really known how many are active.
Questioned by PS deputy José Carlos Barbosa about the extent of irregularities in the sector, Vítor Soares said that the association is not the supervisory entity.
“I have already made several presentations, to Social Security, the Working Conditions Authority, the Tax Authority, about green receipts, but it seems that it is a problem that no one wants to touch […]. They are all identified in the invoices that the platforms issue,” he said.
Therefore, he added, it would be “easy to cross-reference the information to find out who the 38 thousand drivers are” in existence, although there is a legal difficulty as the platforms are external to the country.
To the question from IL deputy Angélique da Teresa about whether the multiplier used in France would be a solution in Portugal, Vítor Soares responded affirmatively, recalling that the system was already used during the covid-19 pandemic.
As for PSD deputy Francisco Covelinhas Lopes, who questioned the relationship with other associations in the sector and the number of AMN-TVDE members, Vítor Soares assured “he is with everyone who wants to defend the sector” and that, at the moment, they have 620 members, including 200 companies.