Major industry representatives are concerned by the direction that the European Parliament is taking in negotiations over the Platform Workers Directive, which reclassifies self-employed collaborators in the EU as digital platform workers.
IRU, CEEMET, HOTREC, EBF-BCESA and ECEG – representing road transport, hospitality and the banking sector, as well as chemical, metal, engineering and technology-based industries – have serious concerns over negative impacts from the European Parliament’s proposal for the Platform Workers Directive.
The proposal's overly broad definition essentially reclassifies any self-employed collaborator who uses a computer to organise their work as a digital platform worker. This would put the financial and operational viability of many small and medium-sized (SMEs) firms at risk.
The industry representatives call upon Members of the European Parliament to reject the excessive scope of the directive, which currently covers most companies, including SMEs, operating in the EU market.
The Parliament's approach deviates from the original purpose of the directive, which is to correct the unlawful behaviour of large multinational companies. Instead, it would impact businesses that have been operating in the EU market for decades, obeying the rules and paying their fair share of taxes.
The European Parliament should support a narrow definition of digital labour platforms, in accordance with the European Commission's original proposal, and expressly exclude SMEs from the scope of the directive.