European Economic
and Social Committee
The European Parliament adopts the Platform Work directive Report
The final text of the Parliament improves on the work done by the European Commission, which was already an important step in the right direction, as already highlighted in our EESC opinion, and takes onboard some of the suggestions. While not perfect, the text can be a game changer to ensure that platform work does not become a social dumping tool to establish 19th-century working conditions.
Platform workers suffer many of the challenges of an older breed of workers: the fake self-employed. Plus a number of new ones derived from algorithmic management and ruthless working conditions, profiting from dysfunctional labour markets and often preying on the ones most in need of income. In order to prevent EU and national legislation on labour protection from being blatantly ignored and to ensure all workers enjoy equally rights such as sick leave, paid time off or work-life balance, as well as to allow for a healthy competition in new economic sectors that does not depend on exploitation, the Workers' Group has supported a number of initiatives, including the present directive.
What's next?
After today's adoption, we hope for the trilogue negotiations to be brief and take into account the objective of improving working conditions of workers. Once an agreement is reached, the directive will be published as EU law. We call in this case for all member states to swiftly and faithfully transpose the directive in its letter and spirit, and to work together with the social partners in each case. Further down the road, rigorous and effective enforcement will be fundamental to ensure the directive is not circumvented.
Also this week
The European Parliament adopted as well the Report with recommendations to the Commission on Revision of European Works Councils Directive, calling for a revision of the 2009 directive. After the silence of the Commission, this sends a strong signal that changes are needed, and expect the EC to take note and prepare it as soon as possible.