There will be an EU Platform Work Directive after all. On Monday [11 March], Greek minister of Labour and Social Security Domna Michailidou told her fellow European ministers, to evident surprise in the room, that her government had changes its mind, and would now support the Belgian-negotiated agreement, after refusing to do so just three weeks earlier. A few minutes later, Estonia's representative followed in Michailidou's footsteps. Neither gave much by way of an explanation (maybe one day the real story will come out...), but regardless, Estonia and Greece flipping sides meant it was 25 in favour and just two hold-outs, two countries' which just happen to be the EU's biggest and most powerful. Germany and France were left unusually isolated, short of the 35% population share of the EU which they needed to maintain their 'blocking minority' to stop the Directive from passing.You can read our full report on the Platform Work Directive agreement here. You can also read our in-depth analysis of the technical aspects of the law here. In this newsletter, we will restrict ourselves to just three points that may be worth considering, as we finally begin to look beyond the legislative wrangling and towards this regulation becoming a reality that actually has an impact on platform workers' lives. 1) Transposition and implementation will be key As we have previously sought to explain, the Belgian-negotiated final agreement is a Platform Work Directive-lite. It establishes the framework for deciding on employment, while leaving it up to each member-state to fill out the content. How this law is transposed into national law will therefore be pivotal in dictating how effective it turns out to be in tackling bogus self-employment.Whether there is a general presumption of employment, as the European Parliament proposed, or a set of criteria, as the Council proposed, is all up for grabs in the two year window that member-states now have to transpose this law. And that's not all. The final agreement is also short of detail about the implementation measures that should accompany this law: should labour inspectorates be required to investigate workplaces where at least one gig worker has been found to be bogus self-employed? Should gig workers be offered help by the state to bring bogus self-employment claims forward? Should bogus self-employment verdicts by labour inspectorates be suspended while platforms' appeal the decision through the courts? All of that will be decided at the nation-state level.You might think that these are minor details, but the evidence suggests that when it comes to tackling bogus self-employment in the gig economy, it is the details that matter. Look at the only two EU states which currently have established a presumption of employment in the platform economy, Belgium and Portugal. Whereas the former's law has been a dead letter because of it's poor-design, the latter is rapidly re-classifying platforms workers because of its stronger criteria and robust implementation measures.2) If Uber can't make the law, they will try to break itIf you had any doubt about whether Uber would swallow the Platform Work Directive, that should be dispelled by their response to the approval of this law.“EU lawmakers have voted to maintain the status quo today, with platform worker status continuing to be decided country-to-country and court-to-court," an Uber spokesperson said. "Uber now calls on EU countries to introduce national laws that give platform workers the protections they deserve while maintaining the independence they prefer.”The company will fight against employment status tooth and nail, starting with trying to shape the transposition of the law, then the implementation of the law, and if all that fails then it is not beyond them to simply embrace illegality, as Uber Eats and Glovo have done since the introduction of the Spanish 'Rider Law' in 2021. One only has to read the views of Aurélien Pozzana, chair of the Move EU lobby group and Director of Public Affairs Western Europe at Bolt, about the Belgian-negotiated agreement just one month ago to know that Uber's blasé public posture has nothing to do with what the company is really thinking, nor its rivals. The platform lobby will be worried about this law, but will be quickly preparing to fight it member-state by member-state.3) The Directive will be what workers make of itAt the end of the day, this legislation will be worth little more than the paper it is written on if it is not animated by workers' determined to really bring it to life. It will be the activity of workers' themselves to claim that they are being falsely denied employment rights that will be the force that can push the bureaucratic wheels of the state into action to make it happen. And even when platform workers' achieve employment contracts, experience shows that does not mean that good working conditions automatically follow, far from it. Just look at the riders at grocery delivery platforms like Getir and GoPuff, or the sub-contracted employees of Croatia's platform economy. Employment is only a potential stepping stone to push for higher pay, better conditions, and so forth. Equally, the rights in relation to algorithmic management in this Directive - like the right to know what data is collected on you, the right to an explanation for an automated decision, the right to a private digital communication channel with your fellow workers - will only be meaningful if platform workers actually want to act on them. That will require a level of organisation and consciousness around algorithmic management which is currently lacking.Finally, we should bear in mind the undocumented migrants currently working in Europe's platform economy, especially in the food delivery sector, where in many large cities they make up a majority of the riders. They will not be celebrating this law. They may be worried that it might mean unemployment and destitution for them. Only by combining employment rights with the regularisation of the undocumented can all platform workers have the possibility of decent, dignified labour.
Ben Wray, Gig Economy Project co-ordinator
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What do you think about the Platform Work Directive? |
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In the coming weeks, the Gig Economy Project will be running commentary and analysis on the EU Platform Work Directive. You can join in too. E-mail GEP@BraveNewEurope.com with between 100-300 words of your thoughts on the Directive and we will include it in the newsletter. If you are keen to write a longer piece about the Directive for the website or a video for social media, get in touch with us to discuss. It doesn't matter if you have never written or recorded a video before - we can offer advice and editing support.
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Gig Economy news round-up |
- DELIVEROO CEO SEEKS TO REASSURE INVESTORS OVER PLATFORM WORK DIRECTIVE: The CEO of British food delivery platform Deliveroo has sought to reassure investors that most of its riders will still be self-employed, despite the EU Platform Work Directive agreement. Will Shu told an investor conference call on Wednesday [13 March], following the publication of the listed-company's 2023 financial results, that in the UK and France employment status was unlikely to change for riders. The UK is outside the EU and consequently the Platform Work Directive does not apply. Referring to a UK Supreme Court ruling in November, Shu claimed: “UK law has conclusively demonstrated that riders are self-employed”. As for France, Shu said that "authorities have concluded that our current model is self-employment". The Emmanuel Macron-led French Government has been notoriously hostile to the notion of employment status in the gig economy, and was one of just two countries', alongside Germany, not to support the Directive on Monday [11 March]. "These developments mean that taken together we have regulatory clarity and markets that count for 90% of our GTV [Gross Transaction Value]," Shu stated. More broadly, Shu said that the Directive "will say that national law will continue to determine final employment status decisions as is the case today. I think this is great. This is welcome clarity, because we already operate according to existing national employment laws now." Read more here.
- APP DRIVERS TO BOYCOTT CHEVRON-BRANDED PETROL STATIONS IN PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ACTION: The International Alliance of App-Based Transport Workers (IAATW) have announced an international boycott of Chevron-branded petrol stations "in solidarity with the Palestinian people". IAATW represents over 100,000 app-based drivers in 20 countries worldwide, including the UK and France. At their recent bi-annual conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, IAATW passed motions in support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against all companies complicit in the Israeli occupation and blockade of the West Bank and Gaza, and Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, which the International Court of Justice has found could amount to a genocide. Chevron works with the Israeli government as its main gas extractor from the Eastern Mediterranean. "Chevron is directly involved in Israel's policy and practice of depriving the Palestinian people of their right to sovereignty over their natural resources," the statement reads. Chevron also owns Texaco and Caltex petrol stations, which will also be boycotted. The IAATW added that they "pledged to investigate and take action against app companies utilising Israeli technology complicit in the genocide perpetrated against Palestinians." Read more here.
- AMAZON 'FLEX' DELIVERY WORKERS' WERE BOGUS SELF-EMPLOYED, SPANISH COURT FINDS: 84 Amazon delivery drivers in the city of Valladolid have been found to be bogus self-employed, in just the latest of a string of court cases the American e-commerce giant has lost in Spain. The Social Court 4 found the "existence of an employment relationship" on Monday [11 March], due to a fixed remuneration and a relationship of dependency between the drivers' and Amazon. The Labour Inspection took place from April 2020 to February 2021. The case comes after a similar verdict in the Social Court number 42 of Madrid in January, when 3,688 drivers were found to be bogus self-employed. The Valladolid case makes it at least three times Amazon 'Flex' delivery drivers were found to be bogus self-employed in the southern European country, with Amazon appealing the first of those verdicts. Amazon ended its 'Flex' service shortly after the passing of the Rider Law in 2021, which established a legal presumption of employment for delivery couriers' in Spain. Read more here.
- FIRED LIEFERANDO RIDER WHO HAD AN ACCIDENT TAKING COMPANY TO COURT: A former Lieferando (Just Eat) food delivery courier in Berlin who was fired shortly after having a serious road accident while at work is taking the company to court. Gurpreet Singh had the accident in mid-January, where he hit his head, was unconscious and spent two days in hospital. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and tinnitus. Singh, who had four weeks left of his six-month probationary period when the accident was happened, was fired on the final day of his probation. Singh says that he never received a helmet from the company, which is mandatory as Lieferando riders are employed in Germany, despite asking for one on several occasions. Lieferando has denied the claim, stating that Singh was asked to pick up a helmet "several times". The Lieferando Workers' Collective (LWC) and the NGG union have both told 'ND' in response to Singh's story that they believe the probation period is being used instrumentally by Lieferando to hire and fire at will. The LWC also state that riders' in their probation period often have trouble accessing the necessary equipment. Singh is taking Lieferando to court because he does not believe he received the notice of termination in time. Read more here.
- 'MAZE' FRENCH CO-OPERATIVE DRIVERS' APP UP AND RUNNING: 'Maze', a French driver co-operative, is now available for customers to download on Apple's app store. The President of the project, union leader Brahim Ben-Ali, tweeted: "I am announcing that the application Maze of the Cooperative of Private Drivers (VTC) is now available on the stores. After several years of work on this cooperatisation project, an alternative to Uberisation which began in 2019 to counter platform capitalism, I am proud of this ambitious project which will serve as a laboratory to encourage other collectives to form." Maze was officially formed in June 2022 by 50 drivers each subscribing €500 for the purchase of 10 shares. On its website, the co-operative states that its vehicles are all carbon-free and that it has over 500 trained "member drivers". 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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- The Aapti Insitute, in association with King’s India Institute, is hosting a discussion on 'Platform Work: Bridging Perspectives from India and the UK', speakers include James Farrar of Worker Info Exchange and Alessio Bertolini of Fairwork. 21st March, London, 5.30pm GMT, click here for full details and to register.- On 4-5 April, a conference at Toulouse University will be held on 'Micro-work, platforms and employment: Multidisciplinary analysis and international and comparative approach', marking the end of the ANR TraPlaNum project. The event will also be available on Zoom (in French). Click here for the full programme and to register.
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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.
And if you like the Gig Economy Project weekly newsletter, why not get your friends and colleagues to subscribe? Here's the link.
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