Labour Law Status of Platform Workers – Between Autonomy and Subordination (original) (raw)
Related papers
2018
On November 16, I had the opportunity to participate in the round table of the III Annual Conference of the Institute of Labor Studies of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, hold in Barcelona and dedicated to the future of work. My intervention focused on the employment status discussion of platform workers in national courts (as far as my knowledge reaches, at least, in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States and Spain). In my opinion, this analysis suggests that a 'false debate regarding dependence or subordination' is taking place, in particular because the fact that the service is developed through platforms (offline and online) does not weak by itself this substantial trait. Thus, without denying the challenges that this new reality poses, which affect several employment contract's aspects, I defend the non-obsolescence of the characteristics of paid employment in this environment. In other words, I'm far from the initiatives that plead the " independent worker " status nor independent contractor (see for a full detailed explanation in this paper – Spanish). The main purpose of this post is to compile these judicial decisions and offer a descriptive non exhausthive overview, highliting certain aspects of the considerations (in any case, I apologize in advance if any
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This article aims to highlight the process of recommodification characterizing the new forms of work today, in particular gig economy jobs, and the possible solutions that can be suggested to guarantee adequate protection. After having explained the importance of labour law to decommodify the new forms of work, in particular platform work, this article explains the different ways to legally classify them at the national level and the relevant contribution an EU definition of worker could bring to address the problem of recommodification. In doing this, the article also mentions some relevant aspects of the EU proposal for a directive in the field.
Platform Work: From Digital Promises to Labor Challenges
Partecipazione e Conflitto, 2019
The pervasiveness of the digital ecosystem reconfigures the organization of work. The new industrial revolution is increasingly based on the platform as a new productive paradigm. Platforms are more than a technical device and they produce huge effects in the labour market: lowering access credentials and empowering casualization of work, dis/re-intermediation labour demand and supply, affecting motivations and rewarding systems, reconfiguring process of control and risks transfer, renewing regulative standards, or re-organize representativeness and welfare protection. Fragmentation, precariousness, flexibility and instability become permanent traits of the workforce fostering the emergence of the cybertariat. Moreover, connectivity, evaluation and surveillance determine new working conditions tested on workers outside any bargaining process or institutional work arrangement. Platform workers (both high skilled and low skilled) are still largely unorganized and isolated. Similarly t...
The emergence of platform work has provided new opportunities for job creation, yet it also poses numerous challenges, thereby placing the topic at the centre of the policy debate. At the same time, discussion of the platform economy usually fails to acknowledge the coexistence of different platform models and their diverse socioeconomic impact with regard to the SDGs and the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). This paper aims to contribute to the debate on regulating platform work by testing the ‘Charter of digital workers’ rights’ arising from the Platform Labour in Urban Spaces (PLUS) European project, in three platform cooperatives: Fairbnb.coop, SMart, and Katuma. The empirical analysis and testing are based on qualitative surveys, co-creation sessions and interviews. The analysis could prove useful for further EU policy, national transposition of EU legislation and potential legislation worldwide. The results show the importance of providing a clear-cut definition of plat...