Activities of Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO related to 2017/2003(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
European agenda for the collaborative economy - Online platforms and the Digital Single Market (debate) ES
Amendments (64)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the rates of self- employment (2006: 3.7%, 2016: 5,6%) and the proportion of workers taking up second jobs (2002: 3.6%, 2016: 4,2%) are on the rise in the EU;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas European labour markets are rapidly evolving towards 'atypical' or 'non-standard' forms of employment, such as temporary work, part-time work, casual work, seasonal work, on-demand work or work on online platforms, which show many features of employment but do not bring the benefits normally associated with employment;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas non-standard forms of employment often involve economic insecurity and bad working conditions, notably in terms of lower and less certain incomes, lack of possibilities to defend one's rights, lack of social and health insurance, lack of career prospects, and difficulties in reconciling on-demand work with private and family life;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas promoting social justice and protection, as defined in Article 3 TEU and Article 9 TFEU, are also objectives of the EU internal market;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Introduction
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the need for a clear distinction between ‘profession'commercial’' and ‘'non-professional’ platforms andcommercial' platforms as well as between professional and occasional users/workers; underlines the importance to recognise remunerated activities in the platform economy that are properly categorised as ‘'work’' regardless of the terminology ('gigs', 'tasks', 'giving rides' etc.);
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Employment relationships
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. States that all workers in the platform economy are either employed or self-employed based on the primacy of facts; recalls ingardless of how thise context that the Court of Justice has defined the concept of ‘worker’ on the basis of an employment relationship characterised by certain criteria such as subordination, remuneration and the nature of workractual relationship is defined; highlights that all work in the platform economy should be classified accordingly;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Agrees that the collaborative economy could also generate new entrepreneurial opportunities, jobs and growth, and could play an important role in making the economic system not only more efficient, but also socially and environmentally sustainable, thus enhancing economic growth, social welfare and environmental protection, and contribute to the transition towards a circular economy;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase its efforts to tackle bogus self-employment; notes that there are cases where self-employed platform workers meet the ECJ criteria defining an employment relationship, and which should therefore be classified as employees; calls on the Commission and the Member States to work towards a common definition of self-employed which also applies to the platform economy;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. CallReiterates its call in the framework of the European Pillar of Social Rights for a framework directive on decent working conditions including in the platform economy, in order to guarantedefine the legal situation of platform workers and to ensure, in line with national law and practice, that all platform workers have the same social and employment rights ands well as health and safety protection as workers in the traditional economy; underlines the importance of such a directive, taking into account the mobility and delocalisation of digital work, with regard to the creation of a level playing field;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Acknowledges, at the same time, that the collaborative economy is having a profound impact on long-established business models in many strategic sectors such as transportation, accommodation, restaurant industry, services, retail and finance; underlines the risk of having different legal standards for similar economic actors; is concerned about the risk of reducing consumer protection, workers’ rights and tax compliance; acknowledges the effects that collaborative businesses are having on the urban environment;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the needCalls on the Member States to ensure adequate social security for self- employed workers, who are key players in the digital labour market; stresses that freedom of association and collective action are fundamental rights which must apply to all workers;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Collective bargaining and competition law
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses that freedom of association and collective action are fundamental rights which must apply to all workers; is concerned that the right of workers to freely associate may be called to question if they are regarded as self- employed and collective bargaining could be regarded as forming a cartel, which could put them in conflict with EU rules on anti-competitive practices; underlines in this context the need to adjust European and national competition law accordingly; urges the Commission to exclude individual platform workers from anti-cartel-measures; calls on the Commission, the Member States and the social partners to increase collective bargain coverage, union density and to empower workers in the platform economy to bargain;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Level playing field
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls fon the Commission and the Member States to gather more reliable data on jobs and working conditions in the platform economy and for the adjustment of related policies to create a level playing field between the platform and traditional economie; calls on the Commission, the Member States and social partners to provide adequate information to workers on working conditions and workers' rights throughout the supply-chain of online platforms;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Draws attention to the fact that the collaborative economy in Europe has a number of specific traits, as it is generally more rooted at local level, reflecting the European business structure, which consists mainly of SMEs; these features offer new opportunities for the collaborative economy in Europe but, at the same time, create a number of challenges for collaborative platforms in order to be highly competitive on the global market;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that possible efficiency advantages of the online platforms over the traditional economy should not rely on wage dumping and unfair competition; calls therefore for the adjustment of related policies to create a level playing field between the platform and traditional economies;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Underlines the importance of tackling challenges that arise when European customers are using online platforms headquartered outside the EU, in non-European cultural and regulatory contexts, with particular regard to data protection, liability of the platforms, taxation and employment law;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Amendment 106 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that all mandatory contributions are paid for all forms of work and examine to what extent social security systems have to be adjusted to provide appropriate protection for platform workers; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the portability and accumulation of social security entitlements;
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Calls on the Commission to examine in how far existing EU regulations are applicable to the digital labour market and ensure the adequate implementation and enforcement; calls on the Commission and the Member States to assess the need for the modernisation of existing legislation to stay abreast of such changes and to encourage social partners to update collective agreements where necessary so that existing protection standards can also be maintained in the digital world of work;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Calls on the Commission to broaden the Written Statement Directive (91/533/EEC) to cover all forms of employment and employment relationships;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5g. Stresses that the socially and environmentally sustainable online platforms organized on cooperative basis should be promoted and supported;
Amendment 112 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5h. Skills requirements
Amendment 113 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 i (new)
Paragraph 5 i (new)
5i. Points out that as job and skills profiles become more complex, new demands – especially regarding information and communications technology (ICT) skills – are being placed on training as well as on further education and life-long learning to promote digital literacy and to tackle the existing gender and generational gaps, especially for disadvantaged persons in this context; emphasises the importance of stronger synergies involving the social partners and various educational and training institutions in order to bring teaching and studies' contents up to date and develop skills strategies linking the world of education with the world of work;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 j (new)
Paragraph 5 j (new)
5j. Insists that public investment in vocational education and lifelong learning is necessary in order to ensure that the EU workforce, is equipped with the right skills for the digital age; stresses that education and training must be accessible for all workers; believes that new funding opportunities for lifelong learning and training are needed, especially for micro and small enterprises;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 k (new)
Paragraph 5 k (new)
5k. Is concerned about the quality of the services intermediated or provided by online platforms; stresses that the quality of services must fulfil the same requirements as in the traditional economy to prevent health and safety risks; calls on the Commission, the Member States and the social partners to develop protective mechanisms regarding the monitoring of qualifications;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 l (new)
Paragraph 5 l (new)
5l. Reporting duties and transparency obligations for platform operators
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for EU standards on transparency and disclosure obligations for platform operators in order to monitor tax payments, social security contributions and practices regarding the rating of work on platforms and to ensure that all relevant information is available to national authorities; criticizes the information asymmetries paramount on many online platforms whereby platforms and clients have access to much more information on workers than vice versa;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Stresses the importance of ultra high-speed fixed and wireless networks as a precondition to develop the full potential of the collaborative economy and to reap the benefits offered by the collaborative model; recalls, thus, the necessity to ensure an adequate network access for all citizens in the EU, especially in those areas where sufficient connectivity is not yet available;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses the need to ensure the portability of ratings of platform workers which constitute their digital market value and are important to avoid dependency of workers on certain platforms since ratings are important determinants in the allocation of tasks; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the transferability and accumulation of ratings across platforms;
Amendment 134 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take decisive steps to prohibit discriminatory and opaque algorithms and software developed or used by online platforms which do not comply with European and national legislation and set up monitoring structures accordingly;
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Seeks the Commission and the Member States in collaboration with the social partners to ensure that workers and users are able to rate online platforms;
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Health and Safety
Amendment 139 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Believes that the effects of digitalisation on health and safety at work need to be assessed and existing health and safety provisions adapted accordingly;
Amendment 144 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines that constant accessibilitywork-related mental health problems such as burnout or depressions caused by constant accessibility, the erosion of traditional working time arrangements and social isolation represents a serious health and safety risk in the platform economy; advocates therefore full compliance with the prescribed rest times and stresses the need to respect working time arrangements in order to maintain the boundaries of working time as defined by the labour laws of the individual Member States; advocates the establishment of a ‘'right to log off’. ' for worker outside the agreed working hours;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to produce a study on the spillover effects of digitalisation, on workers' psychological wellbeing and private life;
Amendment 156 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses that the EU should support the rapid development of the platform economy through the establishment of a comprehensive legal framework and shape its course in a socially just and sustainable way.
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Emphasises that, in many cases, due to persisting asymmetric information or lack of choice, rules for protecting consumers are still needed in the collaborative economy, especially due to persisting asymmetricregarding the information and transparency duties of the parties involved; highlights that transparency is essential inf ormation or lack of choiceder to protect consumers and develop trust in the collaborative economy;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Underlines the importance to guarantee adequate information to consumers about the applicable legal regime of each transaction, the criteria used to determine the professional or non- professional nature of the transaction and consequent rights and legal obligations;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to clarify the collaborative platforms liability regime, - which could enhance responsible behaviour and increase user confidence - assess their duties according to already existing regulations and consider whether ad hoc legislation is needed in this regard;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Welcomes the trust-building mechanisms some collaborative platforms have put in place, including setting an effective and reliable review and reputation system, introducing of guarantees or insurance, identity verification of peers and prosumers - such as pre-screening mechanisms - and developing secure and more transparent payment systems; encourages collaborative platforms to learn from the best practices and to inform and raise awareness about their user´s legal obligations;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21 b. Welcomes all initiatives aimed at enhancing trust and transparency of rating mechanisms and setting-up reliable reputation criteria in collaborative economy business models; considers two- way rating mechanisms and voluntary adoption of certification schemes as good examples to avoid abuses, manipulations and fake feedback;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Reiterates that digital platforms and other intermediaries should have an obligation to report all work undertaken through them to the competent authorities for the purpose of ensuring adequate contributions and protection through social and health insurance for all workers;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Emphasises that the digital revolution is having a profound impact on the labour market and that emerging trends in the collaborative economy are part of a broader tendency within the overall digitalisation of the society; underlines the risks of unclear employment relations, unfair working conditions and non compliance with worker's rights;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Underlines the paramount importance of safeguarding workers’ rights in collaborative services, - first and foremost the worker`s right to organise, take collective action and negotiate collective agreements - of avoiding social dumping, and of guaranteeing fair working conditions and adequate social protection;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to propose a recommendation on social protection in the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights, seeking to ensure that all people in all employment forms, employment relationships and self- employment accumulate entitlements providing income security in situations such as unemployment, part-time work, health problems, older age or career breaks for child-raising, other care or training reasons, and that everyone has a personal activity account where they can verify their entitlements;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33 a. Reiterates its calls on the social partners and the Commission to work together to present a proposal for a framework directive on decent working conditions in all forms of employment as a key element of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in order to extend existing minimum standards to new kinds of employment relationships, improve enforcement of EU law, increase legal certainty across the single market and prevent discrimination by ensuring for every worker a core set of enforceable rights, regardless of the type of contract or employment relationship;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33 a. Stresses that there is a strong need to fully clarify the working relationship between workers and collaborative platforms; calls on the Commission and the Member States to guarantee a level playing field between digital and traditional economies also from the labour market and workers' right perspective, avoiding thus the risk of applying different rules to comparable situations and unfair competition;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 c (new)
Paragraph 33 c (new)
33 c. Due to the rising number of self- employed workers in the collaborative economy, urges the Commission to re- examine the existing EU competition laws, which are now hampering the right to organise for those workers treated as independent contractors, in order to guarantee the fundamental right to organise, undertake collective actions and negotiate collectively, including with regard to their compensation;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 d (new)
Paragraph 33 d (new)
33 d. Underlines the importance to ensure the portability of ratings and reviews for collaborative platforms workers and to guarantee the transferability and accumulation of ratings and reviews across different platforms while respecting rules on data protection and the privacy of other parties involved;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 e (new)
Paragraph 33 e (new)
33 e. Stresses the importance of up to date skills in the changing employment world to ensure that all workers could have adequate skills, as required in the digital economy; encourages the Commission, Member States and collaborative economy businesses to enable life-long learning training and skills development;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 f (new)
Paragraph 33 f (new)
33 f. Draws attention to the lack of data relating to changes in the employment world brought by the collaborative economy and underlines the importance of closely monitoring working conditions in the collaborative economy in order to combat illegalities; furthermore, encourages each Member States to appoint a national competent entity as responsible for controlling and evaluating emerging trends in the collaborative economy's labour market, taking necessary actions in case of illegalities, and informing other relevant authorities; asks Member States to periodically provide to the European Commission with data and information about jobs and working conditions in the collaborative economy;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Is convinced that one of the most interesting examples is the civic crowd- funding that combines public-private partnership with innovative forms of participatory democracy;
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Notes that first movers have been cities, where urban conditions such as population density and physical proximity favour the adoption of collaborative practices, shifting the focus from smart cities to sharing cities, based on collaboration and common pooling practices; is also convinced that the collaborative economy can be a solution to tackle specific problems and offer significant opportunities to inner peripheries and rural areas, tooand can convey new forms of development through local production processes which are globally connected in the framework of an inclusive innovation; believes that this can generate new forms of competition between territories based on the availability of local collective competition goods (such as infrastructures, educational structures, business services);
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36 a. Supports the establishment of a "Forum", involving the CoR and all the relevant EU institutions, cities and other local institutions, organisations, networks active in the local, regional, rural and inner peripheric dimension of the collaborative economy to share experiences and exchange good practices, strengthen the local dimension of the collaborative economy and liaise with the relevant thematic partnerships of the Urban Agenda for the EU ;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39 a. Encourages the Commission to support initiatives and actions to favour more research and fact-finding on the development and the impact of the collaborative economy in Europe; in particular, welcomes the recently adopted pilot project on the collaborative economy, aimed at helping European SMEs and social enterprises with high- growth potential to use and benefit from all the possibilities and potential provided by the collaborative economy business model;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 b (new)
Paragraph 39 b (new)
39 b. Calls the Commission to facilitate and promote the access to appropriate funding lines for European entrepreneurs who operate in the collaborative economy sector, also in the framework of the EU Research and Innovation programme - Horizon 2020;
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 c (new)
Paragraph 39 c (new)
39 c. Notes the rapid development and the crescent diffusion of innovative technologies and digital tools, such as the Blockchains and DLTs, also in the financial sector; underlines that the use of these decentralised technologies might enable effective peer-to-peer transactions and connections in the collaborative economy, leading to the creation of independent markets or networks and replacing, in the future, the role of intermediaries played today by the collaborative platforms;
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 d (new)
Paragraph 39 d (new)
39 d. At the same time, asks the Commission to monitor the effects and the impact of the development and diffusion of these digital technologies in the collaborative economy business model; welcomes the Commission's initiative to ensure the adequacy of consumer law within this activities and draws the attention to ensure adequate consumer protection even with regard to peers to peers Blockchains and DLTs transactions;