The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) wants to change the status of digital platform workers towards a contractual employer/employee relationship, according to press releases published on Friday 19 and Monday 22 February.
Following last week’s ruling by the UK Supreme Court, which recognised the status of Uber drivers as employees, and ahead of the European Commission’s launch of a consultation on the issue on Wednesday, the Confederation is calling for a presumption of employment status in these companies and the reversal of the burden of proof to protect workers.
Some platforms such as Just Eat have decided to employ workers with employee status, which the union believes shows that it is possible to combine employee status with platform autonomy.
The ETUC is demanding that atypical and platform workers have access to their rights to applicable wages, social protection (paid leave, sick leave, unemployment benefits) and collective bargaining through trade unions.
And in general, the ETUC wants these companies to comply with social and labour rights and stop cutting labour costs and outsourcing risks to workers.
For the time being, the European Commission is not enthusiastic about opening the debate on the Workers’ Status (see EUROPE 12613/33).
To see the trade union statement: https://bit.ly/2NmrtyQ (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)