O CAPITALISMO DE PLATAFORMA E A DISRUPÇÃO DA RELAÇÃO TRABALHISTA: ANÁLISE DE JULGADOS DO TST SOBRE O VÍNCULO EXISTENTE ENTRE A UBER E OS MOTORISTAS “PARCEIROS”

Abstract

Currently, the world society exalts work as a means of social ascension, but it has not always been this way. Labor Law emerged in the 19th century with institutes formed through the development of socioeconomic relations and technological developments. The current Social State of Law is based on the social value of labor, the fight against unemployment and inequality, and the dignity of the worker. In Brazil, although the process of constitutionalization of labor law has occurred gradually and slowly, the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), in 1943, was a relevant progressive leap in the legal protection of workers. However, with technological advances and due to the transformations brought about by globalization, the labor field has undergone significant changes in the country. The new way of establishing labor relations has caused important implications that are part of what a part of the literature understands to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Platform capitalism is a disruptive and emerging phenomenon of this Revolution that is expanding rapidly and its progress, leveraged by technology, contributes to the emergence of new activities, remodeling production and work, attributing new characteristics to the relationships between workers and companies. A very relevant company in this phenomenon in Brazil is Uber, owner of a digital platform that, through its application, claims to help drivers find demand for transportation services. However, the work performed in platform capitalism is marked by the invisibility of the workers, in order to disguise relevant issues, such as working conditions. Therefore, it is fundamental to understand how Brazilian labor legislation and Labor Law could appropriate these transformations to provide greater social protection to workers. Thus, the problem arises: can the contractual relationship between the so-called "partner" drivers and the Uber digital platform be considered for labor law purposes? In the Labor Judiciary, there are decisions that recognize this link and others that identify an independent job. Therefore, it is important that Brazilian jurisprudence pacifies this understanding in the sense of recognizing the bond, generating relevant and practical effects for the regulation of this labor. Thus, the objective is to analyze and understand the bias of the existing relationship between drivers and Uber and the possible precarization of these relations, due to the lack of regulation and protection by labor law. From the methodological perspective, the approach was based on the deductive method, in order to analyze, in light of the Brazilian labor law system, the nature of the bond established between the company Uber and its drivers, through the doctrine and the TST case law. After all, even if it is possible to apply the current legal system by framing the platform capitalism worker as an employee or independent worker, with the extension of all applicable labor rights, it is believed to be necessary to have special complementary legislation to cover the peculiarities observed in this type of work.