The 27 approve the 'Rider Law' 'in extremis' despite the opposition of Germany and France

BRUSSELS, March 11 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Twenty-Seven approved this Monday 'in extremis' the European 'Rider Law' thanks to the change in position of Estonia and Greece, which have allowed the directive to go ahead despite the abstention of Germany and the vote against France.

The Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs have thus confirmed the provisional agreement reached on February 8 with the negotiators of the European Parliament on the directive on platform work after two previous failed attempts.

This law seeks to clarify the employment status of workers on home delivery platforms, such as Uber Eats, Just Eat, Glovo or Deliveroo, in order to correct false self-employment to guarantee better working conditions.

The Belgian presidency of the Council put on the table a new compromise proposal that lowered the ambition of the initial agreement to address the concerns of member states, a document that the Belgian minister responsible for business, David Clarinval, described as "the text of the last chance" and assured that it makes "important concessions" to overcome the reluctance of the 14 member states that expressed reservations.

However, this Monday, all EU countries, with the sole exception of Germany and France, voted in favor of the directive, while the Belgian presidency of the Council thanked the "last minute surprises" that the change of position of Estonia and Greece, which have made an "effort" for the "best interests of workers" by supporting the standard in the interest of the "spirit of compromise".

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Germany, Hubertus Heil, explained during the public session in which the law was debated that he had to abstain from the vote because one of his government's coalition partners - the Liberal Democratic Party - - could not give his approval to the text, something he "deeply" regretted before ensuring that he wished "the best" for this file.

For her part, the second vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has reiterated that the February 8 agreement "is not a perfect agreement" and "does not excite" Spain since it could lead to "unequal" protection. of the workers, but has supported it, nevertheless, because it prefers to stand on the side of "the Europe that advances" versus "the one that blocks".

Once the formal adoption steps are completed, Member States will have two years to transpose the provisions of the directive into their national legislation. The main elements of the commitment revolve around a legal presumption that will help determine the correct employment situation of people who work on digital platforms.

Under the agreement, Member States will establish a legal presumption of employment in their legal systems, which will be activated when facts indicating control and direction are found and which will be determined in accordance with national law and collective agreements, taking into account case law. of the EU.

Furthermore, workers on digital platforms, their representatives or national authorities may invoke this legal presumption and claim that they are misclassified, while it will be up to the digital platform to prove that there is no employment relationship.

The agreement reached with Parliament guarantees that workers are duly informed about the use of automated monitoring and decision-making systems regarding their hiring, working conditions and income, among other things.

It also prohibits the use of automated monitoring or decision-making systems for the processing of certain types of personal data of people who perform work on platforms, such as biometric data or their emotional or psychological state.

Likewise, human supervision and evaluation of automated decisions is guaranteed, including the right to have these decisions explained and reviewed.