Labour law academics Antonio Aloisi and Valerio de Stefano have perhaps put it best by describing the EU Commission's platform work directive, announced on Thursday [9 December], as the curtain call for "platform exceptionalism". Digital labour platforms had been hoodwinking regulators for years that this was "the collaborative company" offering "peer-to-peer" opportunities for "entrepreneurs". In reality, 21st century technology was being used to disguise 19th century labour standards, as platforms got all the benefits of labour exploitation with very few of the costs or risks. As the European Trade Union Confederation's Ludovic Voet put it, the Directive "simply ensures workers will now access rights, like paid holiday and sick pay, which have been standard for other workers for the best part of a century".
Despite the modesty of what has been achieved, the political significance is huge. As Leïla Chaibi MEP, who has led the campaign in 'The Left in the European Parliament' for this Directive, said following the announcement, "it’s not very usual that a social victory comes from the European Commission, so I think it is very historic.” Liva Spera of the European Transport Federation expressed a similar sentiment, stating: "In the last decade it is probably one of the few EU Commission proposals that have listened to what trade unions have said." The fact that the EU Commission has gone well beyond any member-state so far with this regulatory proposal is testament to the fact that this is a remarkable achievement, even when accounting for the fact that there are significant flaws in the Directive, as numerous academics have pointed out. The obvious question to ask is, why did it happen?
First, it's important to pay tribute to the significant efforts of the platform workers movement internationally over recent years, without which this issue wouldn't have even been up for debate in the EU. The October international mobilisation of platform workers in Brussels, where workers from as far away as Argentina and Ecuador addressed EU Commissioner Nicolas Schmit directly, was also important.
"When they had the opportunity to talk with commissioner Schmit, it was important to say not only is Uber watching you, so are workers," Chaibi said.
But if we are honest, platform worker pressure probably would not have achieved this result alone if it were not for the divisions within Europe's capitalist class about how to respond to the emergence of platform capitalism. Digital labour platforms do not represent the whole of the business class, many of whom are not happy that they operate at a distinct disadvantage to platforms as they still have to pay minimum wage, pensions, social security, holiday pay, and so forth.
That explains why Schmit was keen to emphasise at the press conference announcing the Directive that "there’s also an economic argument about ensuring a level playing field: why should some companies not have to meet the same social standards as companies they are competing against outside the platform economy?" Schmit went on to state that a "pandora's box" could be opened up of regulatory arbitrage across European capitalism, with platforms becoming a trail-blazer for deregulation, if this Directive was not introduced. Chaibi has said these arguments were also important to winning over conservative and liberal MEPs to uniting behind the left's position in the European Parliament, with a broad and big majority in Strasbourg also adding to the pressure on the Commission to deliver.
And when asked by a journalist about a criticism of the Directive from Business Europe, the biggest lobbyist for capital in Brussels, Schmit responded: "This brings a level playing field, which is exactly what they asked for." Similar divisions were crucial to the Spanish Employer's Association (CEOE) deciding to support the Spanish Government's 'Riders Law', a decision which led Glovo, Spain's biggest food delivery platform, to leave CEOE and set-up a rival group. This divide between old and new sections of capital will only intensify as platformisation becomes normalised.
We should not expect the likes of Uber and Glovo to go quietly into the night following this announcement. They will fight tooth and nail to water down the Directive through the EU Council, where they have a supporter in Emmanuel Macron as President of the Council in 2022. We are now entering a new terrain of struggle, where the balance of power will still be weighted against platform workers. Nonetheless, this Directive is undoubtedly a significant victory, one that all workers should cherish and build on.
Ben Wray, Gig Economy Project co-ordinator
