Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), U ambassadors have been accused of rejecting a compromise agreement on the Platform Workers Directive.
MEPs said the agreement would have made a “positive” difference to the 5.5 million workers in the EU who are wrongly classified as self-employed.
The final political discussions revolved mainly around the thorny question of the employment status of workers for platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo, and Glovo.
The Left Group said it has been fighting to reverse the presumption that these workers are self-employed.
But as the negotiations rolled on, the previous deal fell apart due to divisions in the Council.
A new agreement was struck last week requiring member states to legislate at the national level on rebutting this presumption. But this too was ejected.
A Left Group statement said, “With the European elections fast approaching it is hard to see how this file will progress before the next mandate. The Belgian Presidency has said it will “consider next steps”.
“Meanwhile, the livelihoods of millions of workers in the EU now hang in the balance.
Reacting to the outcome, Left MEP Leïla Chaibi (France Insoumise) said: “Until the end, Macron did everything to prevent the adoption of the directive. Until the end, he defended the interests of Uber. Until the end, he worked to deprive millions of workers of social progress. Shame on Macron. May he never again dare to present himself as a defender of Europe which protects.”
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (Podemos, Spain) added: “Today the EU once again looks the other way by refusing to deal with the impunity of digital platforms. The Council again blocks this Directive essentially telling 28 million workers affected by Uberisation that their rights don’t matter.”
