On Wednesday, the EU Parliament voted through the EU’s so-called platform directive, which will regulate the working conditions for all gig workers in the Union. With all the ministers agreeing on a final wording in March after much debate, the directive has now been formally adopted after the parliament’s vote. This means that the member states will have to implement the directive in their national legislation within two years.
The initiative for the directive was taken to improve the conditions for those who, for example, deliver food or drive taxis for platform companies such as Wolt and Uber. Because gig workers are often considered self-employed or self-employed, they become extra vulnerable to exploitation and the initial aim was to clarify the employment relationship and force the platform companies to take their employer responsibility.
Different arrangements in different countries
However, the setup of gig companies, or platform companies, as they are also called, looks very different around the Union. In Sweden, almost all gig workers are employed by self-employment companies that function as a staffing company and thus a type of intermediary between the workers and the digital platforms.
– If you think that this type of company is here to stay, you have to make sure that the employer’s responsibility actually lies with the platforms and not with the middlemen, says Pontus Blüme, active in the organization Gigwatch and PhD student in economic history at Stockholm University with platform economics in particular as a research area.
The issue of employers’ liability has been tried legally in several European countries. In Denmark, England, Germany and Spain, the platform companies have lost and been forced to hire the gig workers who work for them.
In Sweden, on the other hand, the Swedish Work Environment Agency and other authorities have sued several platform companies, but in all cases and instances the companies have been right. The judges have instead ruled that there is no false self-employment relationship.
– The message is that the gig companies do not have to take any employer responsibility because they are not considered employers. That is what the legislation says in Sweden, says Pontus Blüme.
Sweden is not affected
The previous version of the directive that had been drawn up by France contained letters that had forced a change in the very concept of employer in Swedish practice. The wording in the now adopted version, however, is that the directive is based on the countries’ legislation. Since there are already several court cases that establish that gig companies have no employer liability, it would make no difference in Sweden.
EU parliamentarian Malin Björk (V), who has pushed the issue, is cautiously positive.
– It will now be up to the national parliaments to legislate and then I hope to bring other parties with us who want to see order in the Swedish labor market. Lousy working conditions without rights do not belong in the EU in 2024, writes Malin Björk in a press release.
Five million at best
Pontus Blüme believes that it could potentially make a difference for some gig workers in Europe, even if it does not in Sweden.
– It will not affect all of the EU’s 28 million gig workers, but instead those who work for platforms that largely control the workers by, for example, setting prices, monitoring the workforce and managing the work. At best, it affects five million workers.
In practice, this means that those affected will be considered employees and that they will thus receive the same rights as other employees.
What will be required for gig workers’ conditions to improve in Sweden?
– Political will is needed to change the criteria that underpin the Swedish wage earner concept. The wording of when someone is to be considered an employee needs to be written in such a way that platform workers are covered. For it to become a reality, Swedish members of parliament need to push the issue.
How often do you use gig services?
Astrid Sjöberg, 58 years old, Sollentuna
– I use Uber about once every four months and have mixed feelings. It’s incredibly flexible but I tend to go for the more luxurious version because I think it might be better for the workers. Some gig companies have had very bad publicity. At the same time, I think that it can also be a way to enter the labor market.
Göran Berg, 63, Helsingborg
– Very rarely, but I like the idea and hope it goes well. If I could get confirmation that those who work do it white, have decent salaries, pensions and so on, then I would have used them more often.
Lucy Stark, 52, Åkersberga
– I use gig services very rarely, maybe twice a year. I think it’s better to pick it up yourself because they charge quite handsomely.
Sara Lundmark, 24 years old, Karlstad
– Never. I think it is expensive. It’s probably because I live far out of town and it costs a lot to have things delivered to my home.
Pablo Frutos, 20, Linköping
– Not very often, maybe once a week. I prefer to go to the place myself, but I also understand that it is sometimes very cold and that it can feel unpleasant to go out on the bike by myself.
Carolina Ngujo, 28 years old, Sundsvall
– Not very often, but I think it’s good. I have ordered home food and then they were kind and it was quick too.
Tom Kronestedt, 28 years old, Stockholm
– Not often. It was a few years ago. I feel guilty doing that because they seem to have so much to do and I’ve heard they don’t have that good of a deal.
