Final agreement on improving conditions for platform workers

A majority of EU countries in the Employment and Social Affairs Council just supported the deal on improving conditions for platform workers. An initial agreement reached in December failed to attract support from a majority of EU countries. In February, under the Belgian presidency, a new agreement was reached with the European Parliament on this legislation. However, France, Germany, Greece and Estonia blocked an agreement. Today, Estonia and Greece decided to vote in favour of the deal. The next step will be the final vote in the European Parliament. The legislation will enter into force after two years.

Kim van Sparrentak, Greens/EFA MEP and shadow rapporteur on the file, comments: 

"This agreement is a very important step in building a strong social Europe.It manages to improve the working conditions of the most precarious workers despite millions spent on lobbying by Uber and other platforms.
 
"With this agreement, big steps are taken in the fight against false self-employment, although the details are largely left to the Member States. We welcome the fact that in case of a conflict between an employee and a platform about employment rights, the platform must prove that there is no labour relationship, thus reversing the burden of proof. We are especially pleased that there will be groundbreaking rules on fair and transparent algorithms, which will represent an important blueprint for the entire labour market.''