Source: AFP
The European Parliament and EU member states reached a landmark deal on Wednesday to strengthen conditions for those who work through apps, such as ride-hailing drivers.
Once officially approved, the law will be a world first covering the gig economy and part of the European Union’s effort to bring clarity to the status of millions of workers.
The hope is that courts across Europe will not issue rulings that vary widely as there are now uniform rules for all 27 states.
For many years, companies like Uber have been able to avoid rules on minimum wage and vacation pay by arguing that their workers are not employees but independent contractors.
Under the new law, many platform workers in Europe could be reclassified as employees and therefore gain access to labor and social protection rights, parliament said.
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At least 5.5 million people could be “wrongly classified as self-employed”, parliament said.
There are around 28 million gig workers dependent on online platforms in Europe and the number is expected to rise to 43 million in 2025.
“This is a revolutionary agreement and the first legislative framework for workers on digital platforms,” ββsaid MEP Elisabetta Gualmini, the rapporteur who led the text in parliament.
“We have transparency and accountability for algorithms, we have better rights for the world’s least protected workers, and we have fair competition for platforms,” ββhe added.
If a worker meets two of the five criteria set out in the legislation, they will be presumed to be a worker.
The five criteria are: limits on how much workers can be paid, remote supervision of their work, control over the work they do, restrictions on working hours and control over their conditions, limits on their appearance or behaviour.
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EU member states can extend the list. Workers can lobby EU member states to expand the list as well.
“Legal Security”
Lobby group Delivery Platform Europe, which represents Uber Eats and Deliveroo among others, had previously criticized the bill.
The text will become law once it has been formally approved by member states and parliament.
An Uber spokesman said the company supported efforts to improve working conditions but hoped the text “supports these principles while ensuring legal clarity”.
“We remain committed to Europe and will continue to support a model that gives platform workers what they say they want: independence, benefits and flexibility.”
EU employment and social rights commissioner Nicolas Schmit welcomed the deal.
“The new rules we have agreed ensure that platform workers, such as drivers and riders, receive the social and labor rights they are entitled to, without sacrificing the flexibility of the platform’s business model,” Schmit said.
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The rules also say platform workers should have access to information about how an app’s algorithms work and how their behavior affects decisions made by automated systems.
And neither platform will be able to fire workers or suspend accounts without human oversight, parliament said.
There are also stricter rules on personal data, which prohibit platforms from processing data, including personal beliefs and private exchanges with colleagues.
Source: AFP