Activities of Manuel PIZARRO related to 2019/2186(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Fair working conditions, rights and social protection for platform workers - New forms of employment linked to digital development (debate)
Amendments (38)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
– having regard to the ECJ case law14a on the development of a European definition of “worker” (as employee), __________________ 14aCase C-66/85 Deborah Lawrie Blum v Land Baden-Württemberg(3 July 1986); Case 75/63 Hoekstra (née Unger) v. Bestuur derBedrijfsvereniging voor Detailhandel en Ambachten (19 March 1964); CaseC-428/09 Union Syndicale Solidaires Isère v Premier ministre and Others (14October 2010); Case C-229/14 Ender Balkaya v Kiesel Abbruch- und RecyclingTechnik GmbH (9 July 2015); Case C-413/13 FNV Kunsten Informatie en Media vStaat der Nederlanden (4 December 2014); Case C-216/15 Betriebsrat derRuhrlandklinik gGmbH v Ruhrlandklinik gGmbH (17 November 2016)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 b (new)
Citation 25 b (new)
– having regard to the ECJ ruling on case C-434/15, Asociación Profesional Elite Taxiv Uber Systems Spain SL (20 December 2017),
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 c (new)
Citation 25 c (new)
– having regard to the mission letter of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit and the 2021 Commission work programme,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 39 a (new)
Citation 39 a (new)
– having regard to Eurofound’s ‘web repository of the platform economy',15a __________________ 15a https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/data/pla tform-economy
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 41 a (new)
Citation 41 a (new)
– having regard to the ILO World Employment and Social Outlook 2021 - "The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work",
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas platform work can create employment opportunities, increase choice, provide additional income, and lower barriers to entering the labour market; whereas platform work facilitates flexibility for bothcan provide opportunities for both people working in or through platform companies (hereafter referred to as “platform-based workers”) and clients, and the matching of demand for and supply of services, as well ; whereas innovation in digital tools, which is a useful vector for growth in times of crisis and recovery is a precondition for platform-based work and can contribute to growth in times of crisis and recovery; whereas platform jobs can offer advantages for students and those who want to combine study and work at the same time; whereas strong safeguards are necessary to avoid that platform work results in precarious working conditions and labour market segmentation;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas platform work has also raised concerns about precariousness orand poor working conditions, a lack of access to adequate social protection, fragmented and unstable income, andunpredictable and fragmented income, deskilling, such as a lack of career opportunities, as well as a lack of occupational health and safety measures, especially for lower-skilled on-location platform-based workers and workers performing micro-tasks, as highlighted once again during the COVID-19 crisis; whereas the misclassification of platform- based workers as self-employed workers contributes to this situation; whereas platform-based work shall not lead to precariousness, insecurity or health and safety risks;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the benefits of digitalisation must be shared broadly and equitably between platforms, platform- based workers, clients and society at large;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas people working in the platform economylatform-based workers are generally classified as formally self- employed; whereas, as such, these people do not benefit from the equivalent social, labour, health and safety protection that are connected to an employment contract in most countries; regardless of their actual employment situation; whereas many platform-based workers do therefore not benefit from the equivalent social protection, labour rights, or health and safety provisions offered by an employment contract in their respective Member State; whereas recent court rulings and administrative decisions regarding on-location platform work, amongst others in Spain15b, France15c, Germany15d, the Netherlands15e and Italy15f, confirmed the existence of an employment relationship between platforms and workers, granting the latter rights and entitlements; __________________ 15b Sentencia Nº 259/2020 - Juzgado de lo Social nº 24 de Barcelona - ECLI: ES:JSO:2020:5102 15cArrêt n°374 du 4 mars 2020 (19- 13.316) - Cour de cassation - Chambre sociale -ECLI:FR:CCAS:2020:SO00374 15d Bundesarbeitsgericht, Urteil vom 1. Dezember 2020 - 9 AZR 102/20 15eGerechtshof Amsterdam, 200.261.051/01, arrest van de meervoudige burgerlijke kamer van 16 februari 2021, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2021:392 15f Sentenza n. 3570 del 24.11.2020 del Tribunale di Palermo
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the blurred distinction betweenarbitrary classification of platform-based workers and thes self- employed often seen in platform work causes uncertainty as regardsdeprives workers of their rights, entitlements, and applicable rules:; whereas more and more sectors are likely to be impacted by thisplatform work and digitalisation in the future;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas Member States have developed different approaches, leading to fragmented rules and initiatives; whereas there is a need for legislative action at European level action to overcome the resulting legal uncertainty and improvesafeguard the rights of platform-based workers’ rights and end the unfair competitive advantages of the platform-based companies over traditional companies, often based on social dumping as well as tax avoidance and evasion;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the introduction of a special status for platform-based workers would undermine their rights and further distort competition between platform companies and companies in the traditional economy, especially SMEs; whereas platform-based workers should either be classified as workers or genuinely self-employed depending on their actual situation; whereas a rebuttable presumption of an employment relationship would include the possibility for platform companies to prove that their platform-based workers are not workers in accordance with the national legislation of the respective Member State;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas there is no European definition of "worker"; whereas a special status for platform-based workers would not be compatible with the national classifications of workers and genuinely self-employed in the Member States, with unpredictable legal, administrative and juridical consequences as well as a high risk of further labour market segmentation;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas platforms acting like employers have to observe all their obligations as employers and abide to their sectoral responsibilities;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas the issue of non-paid work is particularly sensitive in the platform-based work environment;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F e (new)
Recital F e (new)
Fe. whereas the creation of cooperatives can constitute an important instrument of bottom up organisation of platform-based work and could encourage competition between platforms;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the current European framework is unsatisfactory, with EU legal instruments which doare not coverapplied to all platform-based workers in their personal scope and which do not address the new realities of the world of work; regretsis concerned that this fragmentation places somemany platform-based workers in a legally precarious situation, resulting in some platform workers enjoying fewer or more limited rights than should be guaranteed to all platform workers regardless of their employment statuwhich prevents them from enjoying their rights as workers;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for the introduction of a rebuttable presumption of an employment relationship for all platform-based workers, which would include the possibility for platform companies to prove that their platform-based workers are not workers in accordance with the national legislation of the respective Member State;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls for the recognition of platforms as companies linked to their sector of activity;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that the meaningre is no EU definition of the terms ‘worker’ and ‘self- employed’ are not uniformly defined in all Member States; notes that the boundary between these two terms is less clear for new forms of work, and that some workers are at risk of being misclassified, resulting in different interpretations at the level of the Member States; notes that platform-based workers are often at risk of being misclassified as self-employed; stresses that platform- based workers, who are not self-employed, have the same rights as any other worker;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a legislative initiative to improve the working conditions of platform-based workers; calls on the Commission, if the social partners do not express the wish to initiate the process provided for in Article 155 of the TFEU, to put forward a newproposal for a directive on platform-based workers in order to guarantee them a minimum set of rights regardlessrights, based ofn their employment status, and to address the specificities of platform workhe rebuttable presumption of an employment relationship;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses the need to better combat bogus self-employment by means of a directive, so as to cover platform-based workers which are fulfilling the conditions characteristic of an employment relationship based on the actual performance of work, and not on the parties’ description of the relationship; is of the opinionstresses that special attention should be givenpaid to digital labour platforms that strongly organise conditions and remuneration of online and on-location platform workconclude collective agreements, which could be used as guidance for determining the degree of responsibility of platforms towards platform-based workers;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that some platform-based workers may be subject to increased health and safety risks; is of the opinion for both on-location platform work (such as road accidents or physical injury caused by machinery or chemicals) and online platform work (for example related to ergonomics of computer workplaces), which are not limited to the physical health but also affect the mental/psychosocial health; underlines that the Commission proposal must address the occupational health and safety of platform-based workers as well as establish minimum requirements tond enable them to exercise athe right to disconnect without any adverse consequences;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that platform-based workers should be entitled to receive compensation in case of work accidents and occupational diseases, and be offered sickness and invalidity insurance coverageprovided with social protection; welcomes, in this respect, the initiatives of some platforms to provide, as a first step, insurance as well as occupational health and safety measures; for platform-based workers until a legislative framework has been established and stresses the important role collective agreements can play in this context;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls in particular the importance of extending social protection rights to self-employed platform-based workers, including people transitioning from one status to another or who have both statuses, for schemes covering maternity and equivalent parental benefits, and unemployment, sickness, healthcare and old-age benefits;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognisealls that freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are fundamental rights for all workers, and believes a directive on platform workers should ensure that these rights are effective and enforced; notes the potential for imbalanced; is concerned about the imbalanced and asymmetrical relationships between digital labour platforms and workers, who may lack the individual bargaining power to negotiate thefair terms and conditions; notes further that there are also practical issues for platform- based workers such as a lack of common means of communication and opportunities to meet online or in person, which can prevent collective representation in practice; calls on the Commission to address such impediments in its proposal; stresses the need for platform-based workers and platforms to be properly organised and represented in order to facilitate social dialogue and collective bargaining;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Underlines that the cooperative legal form could be an important tool for bottom-up organization of platform-based workers, which may also have a positive impact on internal democracy and workers’ empowerment;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recalls that all workers have the fundamental right to exercise the freedom of association and collective bargaining; regrets the legal difficulties in collective representation faced by platform-based workers, and is aware that the solo self- employed are falsely considered ‘undertakings’, and as such are subject to the prohibition on agreements that restrict competition; welcomacknowledges in this regard the inception impact assessment published by the Commission16 , and the planned initiative to address this obstacle without undermining collective bargaining systems; is convinced that EU competition law must not hinder the improvement of the working conditions (including the setting of remuneration) and social protection of genuinely solo self-employed platform- based workers through collective bargaining by trade unions; urges therefore the Commission to clarify that collective agreements fall outside the scope of competition law in order to ensure that also genuinely solo self- employed workers can unionize and negotiate collectively, and to guarantee a better balance in bargaining power and a fairer internal market; __________________ 16https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/ALL/?uri=PI_COM%3AAres %282021%29102652
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. BelievUnderlines that basic training must be provided to platform-based workers by the platform at least on the use of their website or the application; believes further; points out that platform- based workers, in particular less qualified workerones, should be offered training enabling skilling and re-skilling to improve their employability and career paths; calls for the facilitation of the recognition, validation and portability of attainments in the field of non-formal and informal learning; believes in this regard that a ‘certificate of experience’ should be issued for platform-based workers who have participated in such training, which could be uploaded on individual learning accounts;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Is concerned about the weak respect of intellectual property rights for creative works of self-employed platform- based workers and call on the Commission and the Member States to tackle this problem and ensure proper enforcement of applicable legislation;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that waiting time and being available on the platform is working time for platform-based workers in an employment relationship;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that all online platforms must ensure full compliance with EU legislation, including non- discrimination and data protection law; believes furtherstresses that platform-based workers and trade unions should have access to all data concerning their own activities, understand how their personal information is processed, and have the right to export their ratings; believes that the possibility of a portable rating certificate, recognised between similar platforms, should be explored; highlights that algorithms must have human oversight and that their decisions must be accountable, contestable and where relevant reversible; recalls that incentive practices, including bonuses, should not lead to risky behaviours; points out that algorithms must not reinforce inequalities and stereotypes based on gender and other social criteria; stresses that safety and security standards for algorithms must be respected and highlights the importance of regular checks and controls in this regard to prevent erroneous AI output; recalls that liability with regard to the use of algorithms must be clearly defined, both in the event of occupational accidents and damages caused to third parties; reiterates that any use of algorithms at work must respect and adequately safeguard the right not to be subject to a decision which is based solely on automated processing enshrined in article 22(1) of the GDPR;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Stresses that competition between unregulated global crowdworking platforms leads to a race to the bottom as regards working and employment conditions for platform-based workers, inside and outside the Union; urges the Commission to bring up this issue when discussing labour clauses in international trade agreements and to initiate a debate on the topic in international fora;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve statistical information related to working and employment conditions related to platform-based work;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to consider establishing a European quality label which would be granted to platforms implementing good practices for platform workers in order for users, workers and consumers to make informed decisions, and which would highlight platforms withbased on collective agreements, quality working conditions and high transparent systemscy;