the essential
After working in several jobs, Haykel became a VTC driver in 2021 in Toulouse and he continues to see his income decrease despite endless days.
“€212 for 39 hours of connection last week; €191 the previous week for 28 hours; €0 for 2 p.m.; €456 for 36 hours…” On the screen of his mobile phone, Haykel, a 44-year-old from Toulouse, scrolls through his income as a VTC driver for the last month and the account is not there. Far from it. Especially since, like many of his colleagues, he has just invested in an electric car – what the platforms are asking him to do – a black Tesla Y costing €48,000 for which he went into debt “under the pretext of bounce back.”
But today, this driver, who participated in the Toulouse demonstration this Monday, newly unionized at FO, does not see how he can get out of it.
“My health for crumbs”
A former cabler in the aeronautics industry, Haykel, after several jobs, notably in construction, nevertheless thought he had found a job that suited him. “I had imported cars. And I liked it. During Covid, I took my exam. » And since 2021, he has been working as a VTC. Disabled, he had his vehicle adapted for driving at his own expense. “I have always been valiant. I have always worked. And I'm comfortable in my car. »
But the turnover of this independent worker has only declined. “At the beginning, I worked eight to ten hours a day. Since then, I've been spending fourteen to sixteen hours for €200 a day. I don't want to give up my health for crumbs. »
He describes the platform system as a trap. “A young driver, we give him lots of rides. We bury him alive. Then, after a few months, he has fewer races and he starts to feel like he's been cheated. » Haykel calls into question “the massive allocation of the professional card” and demands, in addition to better remuneration, restricted access to the profession.
