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According to the European Commission, employee status also belongs to workers working in the piracy economy

Digital platform workers – usually couriers and drivers – who are still mostly self-employed on paper, should be officially declared as employees by the companies that hire them, if The publication of the draft directive by the European Commission on Thursday morning Agence France-Presse reported.

The proposal was preceded by a long-running debate about whether people who work in the digital platform’s business are systematically abused because of their job classification. The functioning of the digital platform is essential if the web platform connects the service provider and the customer, through which users can access various services. It could be a location-based application – for functions such as food delivery and taxi service, or web-based platforms – such as translation or graphic design.

Platforms that often interest industries often referred to as the “temporary labor economy,” such as Uber or Deliveroo, are creating new types of job opportunities, but it is difficult to guarantee working conditions and that algorithms treat employees fairly. Their business model is based on connecting customers and individual owners. According to the platforms, they are just intermediaries and not employers. In fact, it is quite different, many sole proprietors are in fact subject to a “digital boss” who not only supervises and influences the work, but can also punish the employee.

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The European Union is facing these problems this year launched a public consultation Concerning the rights of platform workers, call on trade unions and employer organizations to find a solution.

As part of this, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling on Thursday that said platform workers should be considered employees because their self-employment status deprives them of social rights and benefits associated with traditional employment, such as respect for working hours and minimum wages or their health. and ensuring their safety in relation to their work.

Today’s commission’s decision follows the recommendations of the International Labor Organization, the International Labor Organization and the European Parliament. Ludovic Voigt, Secretary of the European Confederation of Trade Unions, although he was generally satisfied with the proposal, also criticized her:

It is considered that some platforms have succeeded in putting pressure on the commission, as the directive makes proof of employment subject to difficult circumstances, which goes against the spirit of the draft.

“In practice, it is precisely these criteria that can legitimize the subordination of the individual owner, and this would go against the purpose of the directive. Future negotiations should resolve this issue,” Voight said.

However, according to the secretary, the proposed directive will ensure that workers now have rights such as paid time off and sick pay that are granted to other workers. “A secured pay contract gives workers much more freedom than sham self-employment, which left workers no choice to wait unpaid for work or to continue working if they are sick. The directive could also ensure that those already self-employed are protected from dependence on the platforms. ‘ says the guild leader.

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According to Voet, the directive provides long-awaited certainty to workers who no longer have to sue a multinational in order to at least obtain an employment contract.

Aude Cefaliello, a researcher at the European Union Institute (ETUI), recalled the Commission’s decision thatin FranceAnd In SpainAnd in the UKAnd In ItalyAnd in the Netherlands) They have been challenging their self-employed status in the courts for months. And almost, without exception, they won all the lawsuits and received monetary damages for not adhering to the minimum wage and maximum working hours.

According to Cefalilo, these decisions, one by one, point to the falsity of the self-employed status and the fact that the persons concerned are in fact workers who should be entitled to all the protections afforded by workers’ rights.

In March 2021, Spain was the first to pass a law State the assumption of the status of the employee For delivery drivers, and in the UK for Supreme court He made the decision that two former Uber drivers should be considered employees. However, these victories did not yet set a precedent across Europe. Kevin remember Successful labor lawyer in February 2020 Lawsuit against Deliveroo At the Paris Labor Court, he noted that while the above cases are important because they shed light on the problem, at the same time, “for each court decision, the platforms argue that it was a private case.”

by Reuters news agency Based on early feedback collected Not surprisingly, companies interested in the piracy economy are not particularly enthusiastic about the commission’s decision. Companies that are largely into food delivery and taxi services almost without exception suggest that regulation would eliminate the flexibility that the platform economy provides for employees they call the sole proprietors or partners.

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However, according to advocacy organizations, it is this “flexibility” that exposes workers, among other things: among other factors, companies in the sector can benefit from recruitment based only on the current and dynamic backlog of demands, i.e. dependence on the system, wages and employee transfer For this reason, the income of the workers is uncertain.

Cover Photo:

MTI / Balogh Zoltan