Faced with Deliveroo, Uber, and other platforms, Brussels wants to raise the tone.
The European Commission has just launched a six-week consultation of the social partners to improve the lot of workers on digital platforms.
Before boarding a plane, Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the Commission, Commissioner for Digital Society and Competition, brings, to the Parisian-Today in France, the voice of Europe not to, she said, that "our new use of technologies is changing the European economic framework".
Why did you decide to tackle the digital platforms industry?
MARGRETHE VESTAGER
.
For a very simple reason.
It is essential that everyone in the European Union works in safety and with dignity.
More and more digital work platforms are appearing and will remain in our economic landscape.
But it is not because we are using new and booming technologies that we must forget the fundamentals of our economy.
Everyone should have social protection and have rights.
Regardless of the sector.
Do you feel that the platforms do not offer sufficient protection?
There are huge disparities, not all of them work the same.
In some, the workers are employees, in others they are self-employed.
This status puts them in a weak position.
For example, if you work in delivery you are not paid for the wait time and the income can turn out to be very low.
You have no compensation if you are sick, no insurance if something happens to you, no training to develop your skills.
How many workers are affected in Europe?
Ten million Europeans have at least once worked for a digital platform.
And this is the main source of income for about 3 million of them.
This is minimal, for the moment, compared to the overall labor market in the Union.
But the platforms are getting bigger, a few have grown by 30% in the past two years.
They are becoming essential, they will be major players in the economy of tomorrow.
We must act before it is too late.
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You have just launched a six-week consultation with the social partners.
What do you expect from it?
We want them to react, and think about, to the problems we point out.
We are curious, for example, to hear the justifications of the leaders of these platforms faced with the differences that exist with traditional employers who, for their part, pay charges and social protection to their employees.
The rules should be the same for everyone, the game should be clear.
If they do not open negotiations within six weeks, the European Commission will itself propose solutions to Parliament, which will discuss them.
Would you like to generalize the wage system?
We are awaiting the return of the social partners, we do not want to draw conclusions now.
One thing is certain, we want to preserve the foundations of our economy.
Platforms are welcome, provided they respect the European framework.
Why should we change the model?
For a hundred years, even more, we have been fighting to regulate our economy, to erect rights.
Whatever level of technology we use, we must continue to develop our economy, integrate new players, according to our values.
Do you fear that the platforms will invest less in Europe, if you force them too much?
No.
The European Union is a very important market, they know it very well, that is why they are developing here.
Europe is strong, we have the means to make our voices heard.
We are in our right to insist.
That the platforms do business, yes.
But according to our rules.
We started work a year and a half ago.
The health crisis has only increased the phenomenon.
It is time for us to act.