| dc.description.abstract | In her political guidelines, President von der Leyen stressed that ‘digital transformation
brings fast change that affects our labour markets’. She undertook the commitment to
‘look at ways to improve the labour conditions of platform workers’.1
The Communication ‘A Strong Social Europe for Just Transitions’2
describes the
multiple opportunities and challenges Europe is facing with regard to climate action,
digitalisation and demographic change, and underlines the need for an ambitious social
policy moving forward. The Communication notes that the sustainable growth of the
platform economy requires improved working conditions for platform workers.
While some supporting measures for people working through platforms have been taken
by some digital labour platforms, and in some Member States they were eligible for
income support offered to the self-employed, COVID-19 has brought to the fore the need
for a more systematic approach to the challenges associated with platform work.
This consultation relates to a Commission initiative on ‘Improving the working
conditions of platform workers,’ as announced in the 2021 Commission Work
Programme3
, within the framework of the Action Plan to implement the European Pillar
of Social Rights.
The European Parliament has released a report on “A Strong Social Europe for just
transitions”4
, which calls on the Commission to propose a directive on decent working
conditions and rights in the digital economy, also covering non-standard workers,
workers on digital labour platforms and the self-employed. In November 2020, the
European Parliament’s Employment Committee held an exchange of views with the
Commission and different stakeholders on platform work. |
