On Monday 30 November, during a debate on the future directive to protect digital platform workers, the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, told MEPs on the European Parliament’s ‘Committee on Employment and Social Affairs’ (EMPL) that it is important to avoid focusing too much on a definition of their status.
In advance of a directive to protect platform workers due to be adopted in the last quarter of 2021, many MEPs insisted on a European definition of the concept of digital platform worker, beginning with Sylvie Brunet (Renew Europe, France), who is preparing an own-initiative report on the subject. Others, like Ádám Kósa (EPP, Hungary), believe that a definition of the concept of worker should first be established at the European level before defining what a digital platform worker is.
“I do not want to have a philosophical debate about what a self-employed person is, what a bogus self-employed person is, and all that. We have seen that in the United States, they have already tried it (a November referendum in California overturned a decision that sought to pay salaries to platform workers). This is not an easy way to start. But I want to make sure that everyone who works has rights”, replied Commissioner Schmit. In his view, it is better to focus on the rights that every worker should have, regardless of their status.
The questions addressed in connection with work on digital platforms were numerous and were augmented by speakers from the academic and trade union communities, invited for the occasion by the EMPL committee. The status of platform workers was the most frequent topic of the speeches. The automated management of workers by algorithms has also been a hot topic, as has the lack or absence of social protection, training, and career prospects.
To researcher Harald Hauben, a specialist in digital platforms, the solution would be to establish a clear definition of the concept of worker. A directive is certainly the best solution, in his view, but it must remain as flexible as possible in order to cover the wide variety of situations among digital platforms.
The issue of digital platforms will be discussed at the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) on Thursday 3 December. MEP Leïla Chaibi (GUE/NGL, France) presented a draft directive to the Commissioner in early November to help prepare the text (see EUROPE 12602/19). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)