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Current Uber The driver Yaseen Aslam started fighting for the rights of app workers as early as 2014. This struggle is desperate; it’s like a “dark tunnel”.He claimed that scholars told him that it was impossible to succeed because his odd-work colleagues were very different, and most of them were from ethnic minorities. These groups did not High union membership rateSeven years later, Aslam—now chairman of App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU), an organization with thousands of members—can look around the UK and Europe and see multiple court cases rulings in favor of gig workers getting more Employment rights. “This is an important year,” he said. “We are now beginning to see the light.”
In the past 12 months, gig economy companies have spent a lot of time in court because judges reviewed a business model that promised workers greater flexibility in exchange for fewer rights than traditional employees.But on December 9, the European Commission Announce One of the biggest challenges facing the business model is the issuance of an important new draft law designed to reshape the relationship between gig workers and the platform that pays them. The committee estimates that if these rules are passed, it could affect as many as 4 million people, indicating that it is responding to a series of activities in the national courts. “There have been more than 1,000 court rulings throughout the European Union [against] Hundreds of cases are still pending on different platforms,” European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said at a press conference. “So, among other things, the purpose of the proposal is to provide more clarity. “
The first landmark case in 2021 arrived in February, not in the EU but in the UK. Aslam is one of 25 drivers who questioned the way Uber classifies them as self-employed.British Supreme Court The ruling is beneficial to drivers, giving them the right to enjoy minimum wages and holiday wages. That case was only the beginning of a year, and the rulings made by courts across Europe affected ride-hailing apps such as Uber, Bolt and Ola, as well as delivery apps such as Deliveroo and Glovo.Uber says It will appeal A similar decision Dutch court In September, the company stated that the driver was an employee and not a contractor. In BelgiumIn November, the court ruled that only Uber drivers with official taxi licenses can continue to operate, and the company stated that 95% of drivers in the app are excluded.This week, the High Court of London Be ruled The ride-hailing app claims that they are “agents,” and the way they promote contracts between drivers and passengers does not comply with the city’s traffic laws. Instead, companies such as Uber and Free Now must themselves be responsible for using the app for taxi rides.
“These platform apps considered them to be disruptors from the beginning…helping to promote business development on behalf of independent contract drivers,” said Jeffrey Vogt, director of the rule of law at the Solidarity Center for Workers’ Rights in Washington, DC, which tracks Court cases worldwide. He added that this setting has been accepted for years, but lawsuits have surged recently. The decision of the High Court of London is just one example of the abolition of this mediator status. “Most judicial opinions inside and outside Europe are looking for employment relationships,” Vogt said. “There are still outliers, but I think this is definitely a trend.” One of the outliers included December 8 Belgian decision, The court found that Deliveroo drivers cannot be reclassified as employees.
However, the general consensus of European judges means that in its current form, the gig economy business model is unlikely to survive in Europe, said Valerio De Stefano, a labor law professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium. “in my opinion, [gig economy companies] Will have to decide whether they want to run the business model according to the rules, or completely change their business model, allowing workers to set their own fees, rather than expelling them from the platform because of low ratings. “If the court’s victory continues to be strengthened by supervision, it will be more difficult to avoid changes. In May 2021, the Spanish government Translate the 2020 Supreme Court ruling into law, Requiring that gig workers be treated as employees.Similar bills have also been Approved by the Portuguese government In October 2021, it is awaiting the final approval stamp from the parliament. “The success of our litigation is important because they are shaping legislation and putting pressure on legislators to clarify labor laws,” said Johanna Winkbach, director of the Hugo Sinzheimer Institute in Frankfurt, which works with German trade unions. Work closely together.
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