"MEPs tighten platform worker protection in key committee vote", 13 December 2022

EU lawmakers voted in favour of a platform workers’ directive compromise text at the parliamentary committee on social affairs on Monday evening (12 December) – a crucial move after months of complex and divisive negotiations.

Debates were ongoing since May 2022, and saw stark splits among political groups. In an interview last week, centre left (S&D) rapporteur Elisabetta Gualmini MEP had spoken of “extremely delicate and sensitive” talks.

“We were able, starting from very distant points, to get closer”, Gualmini said to her peers minutes before the vote. To her, the main goals have been achieved: “the protection of workers, the protection of good employers, the protection of the ‘genuine’ self-employed”.

Main changes

Unlike the Commission’s initial proposal, which set out several criteria that could motivate a legal presumption of employment, Gualmini managed to eliminate the criteria altogether – a decision platforms claim would threaten EU legal certainty and cause mass reclassification.

Even within the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), disagreements were numerous over the exclusion of specific criteria – throwing yet more fuel to the fire of complex negotiations.

In contrast to the Commission’s initial text, the European Parliament’s compromise created a list of criteria to motivate the rebuttal of the presumption by platforms. Should these criteria be met, a presumed-employee worker would be proven to be ‘genuinely’ self-employed.

Finally, significant changes were made in the algorithmic management part of the text by adding more transparency and information requirements regarding how these automated tools are used and they affect their employment relationship.

As Gualmini told EURACTIV last week, “everyone gave up something and got something”. As such, she had to give up on her efforts to widen the directive’s scope to all workers impacted by algorithmic management and focus on platform workers only.

Likewise, rebuttal criteria were made informative only for member states to consider when opening appeal proceedings.

Reactions

“I am happy and proud of the clear result. The final dance is yet to come, but this is giving us a tailwind”, EPP shadow rapporteur Dennis Radtke told EURACTIV after the vote.

In a tweet, leftist lawmaker Leila Chaibi argued that “the text voted on is a real improvement. It moves away from the status quo & marks an important step in the fight for platform workers’ rights”.

But industry stakeholders remain unconvinced, however. [...]

The text was adopted with 41 votes to 12. It will provide the basis for a negotiating mandate with the EU Council unless 71 MEPs request a vote at a plenary session, where amendments alternative to the committee text might be tabled.