Ministry of Labour Cites Legal, Regulatory Challenges for Difficulty in Including Delivery Workers in Social Security

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has attributed the difficulty of including workers in delivery companies under the provisions of the Social Security Law to legal and regulatory challenges imposed by the nature of this work model. Ziyad Mahmoud Hussein, Director of the Labour Inspection Department at the Ministry, explained that the most prominent of these challenges lies in the unregulated nature of the delivery sector's work. Most of these workers rely on freelance or piece-rate work, without formal written contracts, in addition to sometimes relying on verbal agreements or electronic service terms that may be ambiguous. Hussein also highlighted another issue related to the legal classification of contracts between workers and delivery companies. A question arises as to whether workers are considered employees of the companies, independent contractors, or partners with employers, especially in cases where wages are calculated based on piecework completion or the number of delivery operations. He indicated that these circumstances make proving the existence of an employment relationship and determining the worker's affiliation with the employing entity a complex matter for inspection committees and judicial authorities, representing a major challenge to implementing labour law provisions and guaranteeing the legal rights of workers in the sector. Hussein clarified that Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 began implementation in 2016, at a time when delivery services via electronic platforms and applications, and remote work, had not yet emerged to the widespread extent currently seen in the country. He noted that the spread of these patterns has significantly increased in recent years. The Director of the Labour Inspection Department called for the necessity of enacting new laws or legal provisions to regulate the nature of work in these modern fields. This would provide a clear framework defining the relationship between the worker and the employing entity, ensuring that workers are covered by legal and social protection that safeguards their rights.