by Klaus Heeger, Secretary General, CESI
There is an issue frequently brought up by some economists and platforms themselves. Namely, they argue that a regulation of the platform economy will risk hindering its flexibility, which is one of its inherent features.
I had a meeting with an MEP some years ago, long before the publication of the European Commission’s proposal on the platform work directive. She said that we need to let the platform economy unfold because we will only know later what and how much to regulate, and that an ex-ante regulation will just hinder and destroy new economic opportunities.
I disagree with this approach. We need an economy that works for people, not the other way around. Also, and especially as we look into the future, new forms of work cannot be built on the backs of the people — platform workers in this case.
Framework conditions and the rules of the game allowing those in need of protection to benefit from labour law and social security, must be set from the beginning — and in the platform economy we are already too late.
New forms of employment develop and fragmentise at breath-taking speed, and more and more de facto dependent workers fall through labour law and social security safety nets.
Eurofound has identified nine overarching types of new forms of employment and ten types of platform work. These new forms of work have grown in number of their members and in relevance to today’s labour markets. In the platform economy, there are now an estimated 28 million economically active persons, with around 5.5 estimated at risk of a misclassification, being formally independent contractors even if they are in practice in dependent work relationships.
At the same time, the share of workers covered by the collective agreements has declined dramatically over the past 30 years. Most of the new employment models and forms of work, including the rising number of solo self-employed, suffer from a lack of representation.
How can we ensure — for the sake of persons performing platform work but also for the sake of a level playing field for the entire labour market — that platform work is a path to standard employment (for those who want this), and not to a new impoverished and unprotected workforce?
An EU platform work directive will be an important first step. The proposed text has the potential to create more transparency, legal certainty, and homogeneity, provided that, in its final form, it will maintain a broad scope, an inclusive definition of digital labour platforms, an assertive legal presumption of employment relationship, and, above all, provisions that pave the way to strong collective interest representation.
Social dialogue and collective bargaining will have to play a predominant role. But there are obstacles. Many persons performing platform work may not necessarily consider themselves as workers and could lack the ‘instinct’ to joint interest representation. Platforms (and consumers for that matter) often argue that collective agreements are not suitable for flexible work models.
These challenges must be addressed because collective agreements can be very flexible in terms of the time they apply, the workers or platforms they cover, and the issues agreed upon. Collective agreements will yield mutual benefits: profitability and competitiveness for platforms and decent employment and protection for workers.
Trade unions are needed more than ever (not least due to the increase of precariousness in new forms of work), yet the fragmentation of work (and a scattered workforce) makes it difficult to reach out to platform workers and to establish dense memberships. And new demands and expectations (which can vary considerably compared to ‘traditional’ workers) are to be met. Trade unions can mediate the relationship between platforms and those that work through them and ensure fair working conditions for all.
To adapt to the changing landscape of work and to respond to the needs of platform workers, trade unions must seize the political, societal, and legislative moment. This requires modernizing their structures and approaches, understanding the mentality of platform workers, and making themselves (again) attractive for young people.
We must step into a new era for the world of work with fair rules, and reset the power imbalances between companies and workers.
* The blog is published as part of the Reshaping Work efforts to stimalute timely debate. The opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Reshaping Work.