On Monday, the European Parliament will discuss better EU rules for social rights for workers, and a proposal by the Dutch MEP Agnes Jongerius (PvdA) about protecting platform workers. On that day, the court in the Netherlands will also rule on the rights of Uber drivers.
“It is high time for recognition and social protection,” says Jongerius. She will debate with the European Parliament on Monday about her amendments to social rights for people who work via an online platform and are forced into 'false self-employment'.
According to her, these platform workers do not receive a fair wage, do not build up social rights and do not receive sick leave. On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on Jongerius' proposal to combat this bogus self-employment.
“Platform workers should be given the same protection as any other employee and the platforms should follow the same rules as any other company. In my proposal, we reverse the burden of proof. Platform workers automatically become employees and will no longer have to claim their rights individually. The platform worker no longer has to go to court, but the platform," Jongerius said in a press release.
Companies such as Uber and Deliveroo have expanded their revenue model by pretending that platform workers are 'self-employed' in order to reduce their labor costs. “As the profits go to the companies, they transfer the risks onto the platform workers,” says Jongerius. “By reversing the burden of proof, true self-employed people can do their thing, but all other platform workers are protected.”
Platform workers and unions have filed lawsuits in many European countries. In the Netherlands, trade union federation FNV filed a lawsuit against Uber, demanding that Uber recognize the drivers as employees and also pay them according to the collective labor agreement. “We hope that there will be a positive verdict on Monday,” says Jongerius.
Together with the lawsuits, the European Parliament's proposal sends a strong signal to the European Commission. "Now it's up to the Commission to propose strong legislation that reverses the burden of proof and puts an end to bogus self-employment."