Policy Initiatives for gig work in 2021 in the UK, Italy and Sweden
Whilst there has been a higher formalisation of gig workers’ rights through Court rulings in 2020 (particularly for couriers and drivers), gig workers’ conditions remain unsatisfactory without supporting policies. We collected the most promising initiatives on gig work taking place in our case-studies in early 2021.
Hopes for reforming policies from the EU
A key initiative in the EU Commission 2021 work programme is to create 2030 digital targets including a legislative proposal improving the working conditions of platform workers. This legislative proposal based on Article 153 TFEU could enable the Union to support and complement activities of the Member States in the field of social security and social protection of platform workers. The EU Commission has also opened a call for evidence around collective bargaining for self-employed workers.
The UK case-study: Brexit and gig workers
A major shake-up of labour rights is anticipated in the UK following Brexit which could have direct consequences for gig workers, considering that recent wins in UK courts have been based on EU law.
The Swedish case-study: from ‘workers’ to ‘employees’?
In Sweden, the Sweden Work Environment Agency has been inspecting 25 gig companies since summer 2020 under a directive from the government to guarantee basic working conditions. The agency fined Taskrunner in October for failing to recognise ‘employer’ responsibilities for 7,000 workers. By November, Yepstr, a task platform for 15-25 year-olds, announced a U-turn recognising 5,500 gig workers as ‘employees’ as of the 1st January 2021. Regardless of employment status, GigWatch activists are calling for collective agreements for gig workers negotiated by trade unions to regulate the gig economy in Sweden.
The Italian case-study: against unfair dismissal
In Italy, on the 2nd January 2021, the Court of Bologna ruled in favour of an appeal lodged by three trade unions (Nidil Cgil, Filcams Cgil and Filt Cgil) that a gig worker was unfairly dismissed based on a discriminatory Deliveroo algorithm. This algorithm limited access to deliveries based on graded ‘reliability’, namely, the lower reliability based on worker cancellation within 24 hours of a booked shift (including cases of sickness). This algorithm, though no longer in use, demonstrates the need for policy around algorithmic management to prevent unfair dismissals and ensure fair working conditions. Since 2019, court rulings around gig work conditions in Geneva, Paris and Erfurt have all been initiated against gig companies because of unfair dismissal where individual workers’ accounts were blocked. Despite these individual success stories, the rulings do not yet translate into policies designed to improve conditions for all gig workers.
