Today [3 December] is the second and final day of a highly significant national riders' strike in France. You can read our interview with Ludo Rioux, rider and CGT union organiser, which goes in-depth into what the strike is all about here.This strike is important on three levels. Firstly, it is unquestionably one of the largest strikes in the food delivery sector so far in Europe. At least 60 towns and cities had pickets and demonstrations yesterday, with thousands of riders said to be participating across the country, although the exact amount is difficult to pin down. A good sign that this is a serious strike is that it had Uber Eats worried before it had even begun. As Rioux explained to us, the Silicon Valley company had indicated to the unions that they would be willing to negotiate a higher guaranteed income per hour of activity (excluding waiting time) and to clarify how their new payment system (which sparked the strike) works. These concessions were not enough to stop the strike going ahead, suggesting that the unions think they can push for more. Whichever angle you look at it from, the strike is a landmark in the development of the platform workers' movement in Europe.Secondly, the strike is verifiable proof that President Emmanuel Macron's 'social dialogue' system for dispute resolution in the gig economy is not providing the protection for gig workers' that the government promised. Indeed, there is good reason to believe it is being used by platforms as a cover for lowering wages. As a reminder, elections of rider and ridehail driver representatives to the Employment Platforms Social Relations Authority (ARPE) took place in April 2022 last year, with very low participation and controversy surrounding Uber's role in the elections, which led some unions and worker collectives to boycott the process. Nonetheless, six agreements have been signed between some of these representatives and the platforms through the ARPE process since then. One of those agreements in April of this year was for a guaranteed €11.75 per hour of activity for riders. It was only signed by one union, the National Federation of Self-Employed and Microentrepreneurs, which is one of the least representative in the sector. But the key point is that when Uber Eats rolled out its new payment system at the beginning of November, they did so with a message to its riders stating that this was in order to accomplish the ARPE-negotiated minimum income guarantee. Infact, analysis by Union-Indépendants finds that since the new payment system was introduced average pay per delivery is down between 10-40%. Union-Indépendants and CGT are two of the three unions which called the strike and both are represented on the ARPE (although neither signed the minimum income guarantee agreement). Union-Indépendants warned the ARPE that social dialogue would be meaningless if Uber Eats could impose harsh changes unilaterally, and stated that there would be a strike if action wasn't taken. That is what has now happened, leaving the ARPE with little credibility."The ARPE works as it should, because it is not a tool for improving workers’ rights, it’s a tool for the capitalists and for the government to impose a new status, a third status [between employee and self-employed]," Rioux told GEP.Thirdly, the evident failure of the ARPE to bring liveable working conditions to the food delivery sector should be raising eyebrows among EU Platform Work Directive negotiators. France has been the member-state on the Council of the EU most implacably opposed to a strong presumption of employment, insisting that the Directive must not get in the way of their social dialogue model. A note to the Council by the French Government in September 2022 on the Directive stated that “social dialogue...is a key element for the harmonisation of these new economic activities with better social rights and working conditions for workers using [these] platforms”.No one would argue in the abstract that social dialogue is a good thing, but the question always is: social dialogue on what terms? If it is social dialogue based on the exclusion of workers' rights, then the platforms will always be in a position of overwhelming power and therefore able to dicate the terms. The French national riders' strike is evidence that any governance system in the gig economy which relies on the benevolence of platforms is doomed to fail, at least from the perspective of the gig worker. If such a system is enshrined in or protected by the Platform Work Directive, then the Directive will be doomed to fail too.Ben Wray, Gig Economy Project co-ordinator
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Gig Economy news round-up |
- PLATFORM WORK DIRECTIVE TRILOGUE AGREES NO SUB-CONTRACTING JOINT LIABILITY: The latest trilogue to thrash out a deal between the European Parliament (EP) and member-states on the Platform Work Directive was held on Tuesday [28 November] and ended without a deal on the key issue of the presumption of employment. 'Agence Europe' report that EP rapporteur Elisabetta Gualmini "proposed new approaches and further softened the EP's mandate", but the concessions were not met with any substantive moves from the Council of the EU, which rejected the possibility of moving back to the European Commission's proposal for two out of five criteria to trigger the presumption of employment. However, negotiators did come to an agreement on the issue of sub-contractors and intermediaries operating between the platforms and the platform workers, as has often happened in countries where employment status is either a legal requirement or more convenient for the platforms, as is the case in Germany and Croatia, for instance. The EP had proposed that the Directive should include joint liability for platforms and sub-contractors, so that platforms are also held to account over compliance with the Directive. However, joint liability will not be included in the final text, with both sides agreeing that this will be a matter for each individual member-state. Agreements were also reached on the algorithmic management part of the text, although the details have not been revealed. The next trilogue is schedule for 12 December. Read more here.
- EX-WOLT RIDER RECEIVES €1,000 IN WAGE THEFT SETTLEMENT IN BERLIN: A former rider for Wolt in Berlin has received one-third of the money he was owed after a Berlin Labour court hearing on Thursday [30 November]. Muhammad Shoaib Bhatti, who GEP interviewed earlier this year, was not paid wages worth €3,000 despite working for two months for food delivery platform Wolt via a sub-contractor, GW Trans, which disappeared. Bhatti is one of over hundred Indian and Pakistani riders who were not paid by GW Trans, but just three of the riders are taking a case against Wolt to the Berlin Labour Court, with Bhatti's being the first. He asked for the platform to pay his money owed, claiming Wolt was his real employer. Wolt, which is also taking legal action against GW Trans, denied this, stating in court that Bhatti was aware he was working via a sub-contractor because he had previously worked directly for Wolt and the process was substantially different with the sub-contractor. In the end, a deal was agreed for Wolt to pay €1,000 as a “social bridging aid”, refusing to concede that the company was the real employer. “It's better than nothing, but I would have liked to be right.” Bhatti told 'Taz' after the court hearing, adding: “We will continue to fight against this system of subcontracting.” Read more here.
- FRENCH COURT ISSUES €800,000 FINE TO UBER FOR FORMER 'UBER POP' SERVICE: France's Court of Cassation found on Tuesday [28 November] that Uber is guilty of "deceptive commercial practice" and "complicity in the illegal exercise of the taxi activity" in relation to its 'Uber Pop' service, which was discontinued in 2015. The verdict sees Uber charged with an €800,000 fine, half of which is suspended, while executives Thibaud Simphal, who was Uber France General Manager at the time, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, ex Western Europe director who now runs Uber Eats, were given fines of €20,000 (€10,000 suspended) and €30,000 (€15,000 suspended) respectively. Uber Pop drivers did not need a license with public authorities, they could be amateur drivers as long as they were registered with Uber. The Silicon Valley company said in a statement following the judgement that its Uber Pop days were well behind them: “Since then, Uber has fundamentally rethought its model taking into account local expectations linked to its operations. Only professional VTC drivers as well as taxi drivers can carry out their activity via the application." Danielle Simonnet, a France Insoumise member of the French Senate, who was co-chair of the Uber Files Inquiry, responded to the verdict by stating: "When will Macron and his government stop protecting outlaw platforms?". Read more here.
- UBER TRIES TO SEDUCE LONDON BLACK CAB TAXIS ONTO ITS APP: The world's largest ridehail platform wants London's famous black cab taxis, which it has been at war with for many years, to be available to book on its app. Uber says they want to roll out the service in early 2024 and have offered black cab drivers a no commission deal for the first six months. The move is part of the company's attempt to become a 'super-app' for the transport sector. It has had success in signing up traditional taxi firms to its app in many other major European cities, like Paris and Rome, while in other cities, like Barcelona, the taxi industry has sought to keep ridehail platforms out entirely. Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which represents the majority of black cab drivers, said they had turned down Uber's offer. "We have no interest in sullying the name of London's iconic, world-renowned black cab trade by aligning it with Uber, it's poor safety record and everything else that comes with it," McNamara said. But black-cab drivers can sign up individually and one driver, Hameed Hameedi, told Reuters that he was the first to do so, saying the proposal had "huge advantages". He added: "Ultimately, more passengers booking trips means more cash for cabbies." Read more here.
- HUNDREDS OF RIDERS PROTEST IN ISTANBUL AFTER RIDER HIT BY CAR: Furious food delivery couriers in Istanbul protested on Thursday [30 November] after a car crashed into the back of a rider, who is now in intensive care. The 'Moto Kurye Haber-Yorum' Twitter account, which posts information about riders in Turkey, tweeted a video of the incident, which shows 39-year-old courier Yunus Emre Göçer pulling into the side of the motorway at the Eurasia Tunnel Aksaray Exit, and the car crashing into the back of him. The tweet alleges that "the driver, who was found to be a diplomat, was released". After the incident, hundreds of riders mobilised in Çağlayan Square, with the lawyer of Göçer, Iyaz Çimen, stating that "the release of the other party despite the risk of death hurts all of us." Motor Courier Association President Yasin Shadow said they would be following what happens with the case, stating: "As motor couriers, we say this: We drive alone, we walk together." Another courier, Yüksel Kantekin, directed his message to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ali Yerlikaya: "Mr. Ali Yerlikaya, please hear us, only you can understand us. Only you can help us. Please hear us, help us. Please be with us in this war we are fighting for our friend." Rider accidents and deaths have been the source of several protests in Turkey in recent years. Read more here.
Have we missed something important? You can help keep us informed by sending information to GEP@BraveNewEurope.com. |
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My experience trying to negotiate with Uber
Amrit Sewgobind, platform work organiser at the FNV union in the Netherlands, makes a strong case in EU Observer for a Platform Work Directive without loopholes and which places the burden of proof on the platforms, based on his own experience of trying to hold Uber to account.
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Professor Oscar Javier Maldonado Castañeda will present findings from his paper on 'Gig Capital: Mapping finance and investment in digital platforms' on 4 December, 2pm GMT, event hosted by the Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford, UK. Free registration here.
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The Gig Economy Project is a media network for gig workers and we welcome contributions from workers, writers, academics, activists - anyone who wants to stand up for workers' rights in the gig economy.
If you would like to write for the site, discuss arranging an interview with GEP, or simply have information about developments in the gig economy in Europe you think we should be aware of, get in touch.
Contact project co-ordinator Ben Wray at GEP@BraveNewEurope.com or send a direct message to the Twitter: @project_gig.
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