A victory for platform workers and a historic breakthrough in protecting the digital labor market.
After a period of uncertainty and intense negotiations within the European Union, during which it looked for a long time that new platform legislation would fail due to opposition from France, among others, a breakthrough has now been achieved. This new legislation, which focuses on the protection of platform workers, marks a historic moment in the regulation of the digital labor market.
Opposition from France, led by President Emmanuel Macron, has previously been a stumbling block to the proposal. Nevertheless, the Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV), led by International Secretary and member of the executive board Petra Bolster-Damen, has played a crucial role in reversing this situation. Working with trade unions from Estonia, Germany, Greece and even France, the FNV has called on governments to express their support for the legislation. This collective action ultimately led to sufficient support within the EU to adopt the legislation.
"This is completely logical. The platform company is the only one that has the information about how the algorithm works that controls platform workers. Platform workers cannot access this themselves. So come and show us why you, as a platform company, are not the employer. This is how we explain it revenue model of bogus self-employment in the platform economy."
The new rules include the use of algorithms for making important decisions about employment relationships. This makes it unlawful for companies such as Uber to simply remove employees from their platform without human intervention. This step is seen as an important measure against the divide-and-conquer strategies of many platform companies, which often lead to false self-employment and insecure working conditions for their workers.
This makes it unlawful for companies such as Uber to simply remove employees from their platform without human intervention.
Another important aspect of the legislation is the introduction of a reversal of the burden of proof. Platform companies now have to demonstrate why a platform worker should not be considered an employee when there is management by the company. This means that when a platform worker claims employee status, it is up to the platform company to prove that there is no relationship of authority. This principle recognizes the unequal access to information, with the platform company being the only one with full insight into the operation of the algorithms used.
This legislation is a milestone in the protection of workers in a labor market that is increasingly dominated by digital platforms. It offers platform workers better protection against false self-employment and the arbitrariness of algorithmic management, and sets a standard for how modern employment relationships can be regulated in the digital age.
