Europe’s On-Demand Economy Draws Complaints. And Regulators.
A flexible work force allows for “billions of euros of economic growth, millions of new jobs, flexible working hours,
and more balanced work and family life,” Juri Ratas, the Estonian prime minister, said at a European Union summit last week in Tallinn focused on the future of the digital economy.
“But people are seeing how harsh those circumstances can be.”
Britain recently undertook a review of “modern working practices.” It looked at firms
that rely heavily on precarious contracts and urged changes such as closing legal loopholes that let temporary workers be paid less than regular employees in the same jobs; extending holiday and sick pay to on-demand “gig economy” workers; and allowing parental leave for the self-employed.
Uber has said it will appeal the ruling, and the company’s new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, apologized for its “mistakes.”
The European Commission, meanwhile, backed a proposal last week to combat what critics say is a race to the bottom in social standards for workers with ultra-flexible working hours
and no regular salary, a group which now accounts for about a third of Europe’s work force.
“In a job you can negotiate with the boss — we can’t do that,” said Mr. Biswas, who had dragged himself
on crutches to a demonstration against precarious forms of work recently in central London.
It is part of a broader push in Brussels for better access to social benefits, from written contracts to unemployment insurance, for self-employed
and temporary workers, as well as for hundreds of thousands of people in jobs with no minimum hours or pay.