Defend platform workers’ rights
Uber and co like to sell the idea of a third way between classic forms of employment and self-employment. And indeed, who wouldn’t be attracted by a job that promises quick money, flexible hours and being your own boss? But the risks can’t just be placed squarely on the shoulders of workers and society – while platform companies get rich and take no responsibility whatsoever.
Today, if Uber drivers do not have any customers, they get stuck with the bill for their fuel or their leasing contract. If Deliveroo drivers have a bike accident while working, they are left without sick pay. If Helpling cleaners are harassed, who do they turn to? And who will pay their pension when they are old? At the same time, traditional companies who offer their employees full social protection and decent pay, face unfair competition from platform companies undercutting social rights.
To ensure technological progress translates into social progress for all, we must pass laws that guarantee platform workers have the same rights as any other worker and that the same rules apply to platform companies as they do to any other company. The key to achieving this is inverting the burden of proof. Companies should be obliged to prove that they are really dealing with independent, self-employed entrepreneurs. If they can’t prove that then we should assume an employment relationship exists with the platform company, with all the employer’s responsibilities and workers’ rights that implies. It’s time to guarantee workers’ rights in the digital age