Taxi drivers in Bulgaria have raised concerns over a shadow workforce in the sector, undermining pay and conditions.
Analysis of data from the register of issued taxi permits in the Sofia municipality shows that only 15 registered drivers are listed for 2627 permits, 47% of all the permits that were issued.
This concentration of permits strongly indicates that permits are being used by drivers who are not registered as taxi drivers, and so are being paid under-the-table and are not making social security contributions, nor paying sufficient VAT.
Bulgaria has regulated prices for the taxi market, which includes minimum and maximum tariffs on each trip, but the presence of unregistered drives raises risks that some drivers are earning underneath the minimum rate.
“The established model has a direct impact on the formation of tariffs, working conditions and social status of drivers, as well as on the quality and safety of the service,” ‘Taxi Club Bulgaria’ stated in its analysis of the permits data.
“When a significant part of the actually working drivers are not officially listed as contractors, conditions are created for the concealment of social security contributions, the real cost of the service is reduced and an artificially low price model is maintained.”
The taxi market in Bulgaria is dominated by local dispatch operators, many of which use digital applications for trip allocation, to collect fees, monitor driver performance and use customer ratings. Despite the fact that these companies act like platforms, they are not considered as such under Bulgarian regulations and most riders are hired on a (often bogus) self-employed basis.
Drivers are hoping that the transposition of the EU Platform Work Directive can help to tackle problems of black market work in the sector and bogus self-employment, with extensive control measures introduced to prevent abuses of the new law.