European directive on digital platform workersinspired Spanish ‘rider law’ According to the Spanish Ministry of Labor, this is much closer to becoming a reality. Spanish presidency of the councilOn behalf of the Twenty-Seven and the negotiators European Parliament They closed this Wednesday political agreement After twelve hours of long deliberation. Purposes of the norm improve working conditions People working on platforms such as Deliveroo or Glovo and introduces rules on algorithmic governance and the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace for the first time in the EU.
“Putting worker protection above the profits of multinational corporations is a great advance. Algorithms should be transparent and under democratic control. They cannot decide on dismissal. “We continue to qualify,” the second vice president congratulated Yolanda Diaz, The agreement represents a “historic advance” for them because it will allow those who “risk their safety on bicycles” to be protected as workers. Spain abstained from voting on the Council’s common position last June.
They are equally pleased with the outcome in the European Parliament. “This is a revolutionary agreement and the first legal framework for digital platform workers. We have transparency and accountability for algorithms, we have better rights for the world’s least protected workers, and we have fair competition for platforms. “Today, we can tell 40 million platform workers that Europe stands by them, even the most precarious workers,” he said. Italian social democrat and member of the European Parliament. Elisabetta Gualmini. The Pact will now need to be ratified and approved by the Council and the European Parliament.
500+ platforms
In the EU in 2021, according to figures managed by the European Commission More than 500 active digital work platforms. The sector operates in all kinds of economic areas, from transportation drivers to food delivery or translation services. Provides employment to more than 28 million people. While the majority of platform workers are officially self-employed, 5.5 million people may have been misclassified as self-employed workers (known as pseudo-self-employment) and lose important labor and social protection rights.
More than 100 court decisions EU countries have already addressed the employment status of platform workers and have mostly reclassified independent contractors as workers and work platforms as employers. The European directive was created to solve this problem. The new rules introduce the assumption of an employment relationship that is activated if two conditions are met out of a total of five control indicators. The presumption can be mobilized ex officio by the worker, his representatives and the competent authorities, or it can be refuted by platforms that demonstrate that the contractual relationship is not an employment relationship.
More transparent system
New regulations also improve this group’s access to information. Currently, people working on the platforms do not have access to information about how the algorithms work and how their behavior affects the decisions made by automated systems. With the new rules, platforms will be required to provide this information to workers and their representatives. Additionally, the directive prohibits platforms from making some important decisions, such as: Expulsion and suspension decisions from an account, without human control and ensures greater human oversight of system decisions that directly impact the people working on the platforms.
Platforms will also be required to evaluate the impact of decisions taken or supported by automated monitoring and decision-making systems on working conditions, health and safety and fundamental rights, and platforms will be prohibited from processing certain types of personal data, such as personal beliefs, private information. during exchanges with colleagues or when a worker is not at work. The idea is to strengthen transparency and control of information. For example, they will have to pass on information about self-employed workers under their responsibility to the competent national authorities and representatives of platform workers such as trade unions.