Uara CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaks on September 26, 2019 during a product launch event in San Francisco, California.
Philip Pacheco | AFP via Getty Images
LONDON – Uber has called on the European Union to establish a framework for gig economy workers, using a model similar to that adopted by California after a controversial dispute over the working status of its executives .
The American giant-like giant shared a ‘white paper’ with Margrethe Vestager, EU competition chief, Nicolas Schmit and other officials. It encouraged policymakers to implement reforms that protect managers and couriers through an app, without reclassifying them as employees.
This is a thorny issue for Uber and other companies in the so-called gig economy that encourages temporary, flexible work models in favor of full-time employment. Last year, Uber, Lyft and other businesses successfully fought proposals in California that would give their executives the status of employees rather than independent contractors.
Voters from California approved Proposition 22, a measure that allows app-based transportation and delivery company executives to classify as independent contractors while still being entitled to new benefits such as minimum earnings and vehicle insurance.
“We call on policymakers, other platforms and social representatives to work quickly to build a framework for flexible earnings opportunities, with industry standards that all platform companies must provide to independent workers,” said Uara CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, said in a blog post. Monday.
“This could include the enactment of new laws such as the legislation recently enacted in California,” he added.
Uber said the EU could alternatively set new principles through a ‘European model of social dialogue’ between platform workers, policymakers and industry representatives.
‘Third way’
Uber has warned that authorities will give management no choice but to increase costs by considering its managers as employees, and that the costs will be passed on to customers.
Uber provides a ‘third way’ for the status of gig economy, giving drivers some protection while still providing flexibility in contract work. In the US, the firm has proposed funds that can be used by workers for things like health insurance and paid time.
The company’s European white paper calls for new rules that include a “level playing field for industry” and set a “consistent earnings baseline” for workers on different platforms.
The move comes ahead of a review by the European Commission on February 24, which aims to lay the groundwork for regulating gig economy platforms.
It also comes at a time when food delivery is flourishing while taxi services are being severely affected by the closures of the coronavirus in Europe. Companies like Uber and Deliveroo have been criticized for not providing a safety net to drivers during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, executives are making their own demands on Uber’s business practices across Europe. In the UK, the Supreme Court will rule on whether Uber executives should be classified as workers entitled to protection such as a minimum wage and holiday pay. Elsewhere, Uber executives in the Netherlands are demanding that the company disclose how its algorithms manage their work.
This is not the first time that Uber has come to Europe. In 2017, the European Court of Justice gave Uber a major setback by ruling that it was a transport company rather than a digital company, which paved the way for stricter regulation of the company. And London has twice banned the app from working in the UK capital due to security issues. Uber received a temporary London license in September.