Sara Skyttedal, Miriam Lexmann, Radan Kanev, Gheorghe Falcă, Jessica Polfjärd, Lukas Mandl, Stefan Berger, Tomáš Zdechovský, Romana Tomc, Christian Sagartz, Eugen Tomac, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut are members of the European People’s Party Group of Parliament. Committee on employment and social issues.
The digital platform economy has undoubtedly become an integral part of our lives, shaping everything from employment to transportation and consumption.
But this growing part of our economy also presents a unique set of challenges. This is a challenge that must be addressed by a clear and balanced legal framework. And when the European Parliament is considering a new directive, big questions still arise. Should platform workers be considered employees? And do they want?
There are currently two key points in the new directive to improve the conditions of digital platform workers under consideration by Congress. — Introduce new rules for algorithmic management that are welcomed and required, and unfortunately the scope of employment estimates is incorrect.
Of course, Congress has previously addressed this employment issue, but has dealt with it in a much more equitable way.
A unique report from September, produced by MEPSylvie Brunet of Renew Europe and adopted by a majority of 524 MEPs, focusing on the social protection of platform workers, called for a limited estimate of employment. In short, the report’s compromise was aimed at “fake self-employment.” This is the same as for a job that involves all the responsibilities of the employee but does not bring any profit. And while doing so, it truly acknowledged the rights of self-employed people and fell short of what was close to a major reclassification of platform workers.
However, the coalition that passed this balanced brunette report is now at risk.
In a December directive proposal, the Commission introduced a much broader standard for reclassification. This will now cover the majority of platform workers. And just last month, the European Parliament’s Commission on Employment and Social Issues (EMPL) reporter, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democracy MEP Elisabetta Gualmini, decided to abolish and replace all employment estimates except by name. , Has rules that lead to mandatory employment for everyone who works through the digital platform.
However, many independent studies have repeatedly shown that the majority of platform workers emphasize flexibility, better profitability, and the ability to work on multiple platforms at the same time, rather than the benefits of traditional employment relationships. I am.
As a result, few people agree with the Commission’s proposal. Not to mention the draft report currently under consideration by the EMPL Commission, it will automatically be reclassified as an employee, depriving you of the ability to combine your work with other sources of income and fulfilling your responsibilities. , Research or other personal commitments.
Both Commission and Parliamentary reporters have set out with the best intentions, but in order to achieve a more balanced directive, consideration must be given to the growing importance of platforms in the platform and the digital economy. There are still important important points that should not be.
First, it is important not to overlook the hopes of those who work in today’s platform economy. They prefer to maintain their position as self-employed. In short, they value work flexibility over more traditional employment benefits.
In addition, forget that the directives in line with the report target not only those who work as drivers and courier companies, but also tens of thousands of highly skilled professionals who use the Internet to find customers. Must not be. And since such services can be provided from anywhere in the world, the proposed directive risks putting European experts (software developers, translators, language teachers) at a great disadvantage to non-EU competitors. there is.
Finally, the currently proposed directive ignores the digital transition. For example, in these suggestions, a driver for a ride-hailing service that works through the app must be an employee of the app developer, while a similar driver who works through a dispatch office and two-way radio is self-employed. merit. Therefore, this directive could provide the greatest commercial advantage to low-invention companies.
Needless to say, such an approach has a negative impact not only on European competitiveness, but also on European jobs.
Therefore, as an EMPL member of the European People’s Party Group in Parliament, we strive to rebalance the proposals, confirm the digital transition, target fake self-employed people, and protect the rights of true self-employed people. .. -We are hired by helping platform workers continue to make the decisions that are most suitable for them.
Innovation is in the DNA of Europe. Advances in digitalization have caused unemployment in many sectors, but with a proper and balanced legal framework, Europe can make up for this loss and become a global leader in a growing platform economy. I’m confident.
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