The EU will propose a set of criteria on Thursday to determine whether a gig worker in Europe using platforms like Uber, Bolt or Deliveroo should be considered an employee.

The proposal by the EU executive is an effort to sort out once and for all the employment status of millions of drivers and delivery people that the major platforms insist are self-employed.

The debate has clogged up courts across Europe for almost a decade, with judges handing out more than a hundred decisions across the bloc's 27 member states, with hundreds more still pending.

Those decisions can vary markedly, with Belgium on Wednesday denying a small group of Deliveroo workers the designation of employees, while Uber lost in court in non-EU Britain over its service in London.

The potential for an EU-wide redesignation of platform workers sent the share prices of Deliveroo and other platforms plummeting in recent days over fears that their business model was under threat.

"For too long platform companies have made huge profits by dodging their most basic obligations as employers at the expense of workers while peddling the lie that they provide choice to workers," said Ludovic Voet, the head of ETUC, a confederation of EU trade unions.

"The commission's proposal should finally give workers real certainty about their employment status," he added.

According to early leaks of the EU plan, if two of the five criteria are fulfilled, Uber and others could no longer think of themselves exclusively as tech platforms, but would be forced to behave as bricks and mortar firms with labour laws to obey.

Reports said the criteria include whether an app determines pay levels for workers, makes demands on appearance such as the use of uniforms and equipment or restricts a worker's ability to refuse jobs.

The designation would however be rebuttable by the platforms, with companies given a chance to prove the self-employment status of their workers with national laws the final arbiter.

- 'Dire consequences' -

The European Union has very little power over work-related policy in the EU member states and right now platforms face a wide array of national rules on their professional ties to workers.

In Spain, all workers who deliver food must be recognised as employees by the apps they use to work, a situation that pushed Deliveroo to abandon the market.

In other countries, courts have ordered apps to enter collective bargaining agreements even if the workers remain self-employed, a model that some platforms, including Uber, would prefer.

The tech companies lobbied hard against any EU-wide reclassification, citing a survey by Copenhagen Economics that 250,000 people would be forced out of delivery work if the decision applied for all.

They also worry that the criteria will be too vague, with different interpretations bringing on even more court cases instead of legal certainty.

This would have "dire consequences for platform workers themselves, restaurants and the wider EU economy," said Delivery Platforms Europe in a statement.

The commission's proposal will be negotiated with the European Parliament and among the EU's 27 member states in a process that could see significant changes to the project.

Worker victories over gig economy giants
Paris (AFP) Dec 9, 2021 - A growing number of countries are taking on gig economy giants like Uber, Bolt and Deliveroo by giving their workers -- who are routinely treated as freelancers -- full employment rights.

With the European Union executive tabling new proposals Thursday to clear up the grey area, here is a snapshot of recent decisions shaking up the sector.

- Spain leads way -

Spain was the first European Union to give delivery workers full rights in August, recognising them as salaried staff with all the rights and protections that entails, including sick leave and paid holidays.

The country's left-wing government acted after the supreme court ruled on the issue.

The British takeaway food delivery app Deliveroo pulled out of Spain in November, but other platforms have decided to adapt, or tried to get around the law.

- Italy strikes deal -

Italy struck a deal this month to improve conditions for riders for food delivery platforms.

Prosecutors in Milan initially began looking at working conditions for delivery riders following a spate of road accidents, and the probe was eventually extended throughout the country.

In February prosecutors told Foodinho-Glovo, Uber Eats Italy, Just Eat Italy and Deliveroo Italy that their riders cannot be considered as freelancers but as employees who receive wages.

Under the deal reached with the delivery platforms -- which makes no mention of riders' legal status -- they will have to spend millions improving conditions for their 20,000 riders.

Unions, however, are taking cases through the courts.

- Netherlands: court ruling -

A Dutch court ruled in September that Uber drivers in the Netherlands are effectively under an employment contract. Uber has appealed the ruling.

- Belgium: spoke in Uber's wheels -

Deliveroo claimed victory Wednesday after a Brussels labour court says its riders are not employees.

But at the end of November, an appeal court in the capital said a 2015 ban on private individuals offering taxi services also applies to apps like Uber.

- Uber's UK U-turn -

In March, following a ruling by Britain's High Court, Uber agreed to give its UK drivers workers' entitlements including holiday pay and a pension.

Its 70,000 drivers there will now earn at least the minimum wage when driving for the taxi app.

- US: Biden overturns Trump gig -

The Biden administration in May blocked a rule handed down under former US president Donald Trump that would have prevented gig workers from demanding a minimum wage or overtime.

The state of California voted in 2019 to recognise gig economy workers as employees but digital giants including Uber and Lyft refused to comply with the law.

Instead, they bankrolled a referendum that effectively overturned it. Under it, drivers and delivery riders remain independent contractors but are to be paid minimum wages and a contribution to healthcare and insurance.

- France: Uber, Deliveroo under cosh -

France's appeals court ruled in March 2020 the contract between Uber and its 28,000 drivers in France is an employment contract.

And Deliveroo and three former directors will appear in a Paris court next March charged with "not declaring a large number of jobs".

- Latin America -

Several parliaments in Latin America are weighing legislation to regulate the activities of the platforms, notably Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. However, nothing concrete has so far emerged.

- China: Didi under pressure -

In early December, the Chinese transport ministry called on China's version of Uber, Didi, and other platforms to improve drivers' wages, breaks and working conditions.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China's Xi calls for 'new level' of ties with Germany under Scholz
Beijing (AFP) Dec 8, 2021
China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Olaf Scholz, saying Beijing was willing to work with Germany's new Chancellor to "promote bilateral ties to a new level", state media reported. "China is willing to consolidate and deepen political mutual trust, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields with Germany," Xi told Scholz, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Scholz was sworn in as Germany's next chancellor on Wednesday after 16 years with Angela Merkel at the h ... read more