Uber Promises Better Rights For Gig Workers In Europe

Uber Technologies Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said he was “ready to do more and go much further” to improve social protections for so-called gig economy workers in Europe, but that new legislation was needed.

“The current legal ambiguity on the status of independent workers makes it difficult for platforms like Uber to provide both access to flexible work and to social protections,” Khosrowshahi wrote in an email.

The European Union also wants to improve the working conditions of platform workers, and Khosrowshahi’s comments precede the European Commission publishing ideas for how this could be achieved.

Those recommendations are expected later this month, with legislative proposals possible by the end of the year.

Margrethe Vestager has for instance said regulators are considering exemptions to competition rules for organized labor to allow platform workers to discuss wages without running afoul of the bloc’s rules. The Uber chief said it’s key that drivers maintain the flexibility to choose when they work.

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