“We offer drivers the best of both worlds, both the social protection of an employee and the freedom of an independent worker,” explains Mimoun el Alami. Specifically, with Stairling, drivers continue to work flexibly as they were used to with all the platforms they collaborate with, but unlike when they were independent, their earnings are paid to the cooperative, which converts them into a salary. Each driver thus receives a payslip, contributes to unemployment insurance, retirement, and benefits from health insurance and additional coverage.
"We started from a clear observation, which is that VTC drivers in France, since the arrival of Uber, live in a state of double precariousness, both social and financial,” specifies Mimoun el Alami. “60% of active VTC drivers operate outside the legal framework, without social rights, and many cannot find housing, access credit, or even buy their own vehicle. So we address this fragility by offering them a structured and protective framework, while also trying to create a community of committed drivers around a common project. It’s no longer every man for himself.”
The Stairling teams support them by allowing, for example, to increase their income through coaching workshops, particularly in managing their performance to boost their revenue. Furthermore, through the cooperative mechanism, they will be able to deduct their professional expenses, such as fuel, rent, insurance, and meal costs, from their taxable income.
“We believe we are changing the game because in France, at least, and beyond the VTC sector, for all platform workers, we have opened a third way between traditional employment on one side and total independence on the other,” explains Mimoun el Alami. “This is a model we consider to be pioneering, ultra-transparent, and which allows us to escape a false dilemma that says, 'either you are precarious, or you are dependent.' I don’t understand why we must systematically associate a subordinate relationship in a permanent contract with social protection. This is not a causality that should be the rule.”
“Clearly, what motivates me every day is knowing that we are changing and improving the lives of our drivers,” concludes Mimoun el Alami.
