The EU countries have still agreed to a further weakened version of a directive for the protection of 'platform workers' such as pizza deliverers, Uber drivers and bogus self-employed people. Platform work is work that is offered on the internet via online platforms.
The European law that should improve their legal protection appeared to fail last month due to resistance from some countries. A major stumbling block was that the law would stipulate that such service providers would be employees of those companies.
This would also entitle them to vacation days and sick leave. Liberal politicians from France and Germany in particular did not want to impose too many obstacles on business.
Estonia and Greece have now changed tack because it is now stated that each EU country may determine the salaried employment criterion itself. Employees who believe that they are not self-employed but are employed will soon be able to legally challenge this. The platform must then prove that the person is not an employee. The Dutch trade union FNV calls this 'a watered-down variant'.
PvdA MEP Jongerius reacts with relief and is “extremely happy” that an agreement has been reached. Jongerius spent years working on the file. GroenLinks MEP Kim van Sparrentak is also relieved. She called this agreement 'a very important step in building a strong social Europe'.
According to Van Sparrentak, it is positive that in the event of a conflict over labor rights, the platform must prove that there is no employment relationship. The burden of proof is therefore reversed.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks of a win-win situation. “Our digital economy is evolving, workers' rights must also evolve,” she writes on X.
The new law still needs to be approved by the European Parliament. It is unclear whether the European Parliament will vote on the new law soon. Due to the European elections in June, parliament will go on election leave from April.