EU consultation on gig economy workers’ rights

The European Commission has begun its consultation on improving the rights of gig economy workers whose labour is governed by digital platforms, with the launch of a public consultation to determine their legal employment status and how to improve their working conditions.

The UK Supreme Court ruled recently that Uber drivers are entitled to workers’ rights, such as the minimum wage, and a Spanish court said in September that riders for Barcelona-based food delivery app Glovo were employees, not freelancers.

“There is no going back as to how things work. The platform economy is here to stay, new technology, new sources of knowledge, new forms of work will shape the world in the years ahead,” the Commission’s digital chief Margrethe Vestager told a news conference.

The commission’s process is made up of two parts: the first, which will last six weeks, will see businesses, workers and unions consulted on “the need and direction of possible EU action to improve the working conditions in platform work”; the second, to take place later in the spring, will see concrete proposals formulated and legislation introduced if no agreement is reached in the first stage.

The consultation listed seven areas for possible improvement – the employment status of gig workers, their working conditions, access to social protection, access to collective representation and bargaining, cross-border aspects, the companies’ use of algorithmic management and training and professional opportunities.