*ETUI-Silvia Rainone 17 results

"Besides straining international, regional and national employment status classification models, digital labour platforms are pioneering new strategies and approaches in terms of algorithmic management, digital surveillance, remote work and cross-border outsourcing, which are increasingly being adopted in more conventional sectors of the economy. Developments in the platform economy are thus crucial in providing a stress test for the resilience of existing labour standards, as well as providing useful input in terms of the reforms needed to ensure their suitability, the collective interest representation and mobilization aspects comprehended by rapidly changing labour markets.

This paper seeks to explore the key emerging regulatory dimensions of platform work. It contextualizes the challenges associated with platform work as an expression of the consolidated features that, in the past decades, have been transforming the labour market: non-standardization and the deregulation of employment relationships. Following that, it considers the definition of the personal scope of application as a key challenge faced by essentially all attempts to regulate platform work. It does so primarily by exploring the functions and operations of a legal device known as “presumption of employment”, currently being considered by the proposed EU directive on platform work as a key tool to address the complex employment status classification questions that have surrounded the “gig economy” since its emergence. The paper then provides a conceptual cartography of the various EU regulatory instruments (both existing ones and those currently in the legislative pipeline) that will, jointly, define the legal mosaic of labour rights applicable to the heterogeneous phenomenon of platform work in the years to come."

"Debates on the future of work have taken a more fundamental turn in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Early in 2020, when large sections of the workforce were prevented from coming to their usual places of work, remote work became the only way for many to continue to perform their professions. What had been a piecemeal, at times truly sluggish, evolution towards a multilocation approach to work suddenly turned into an abrupt, radical and universal shift. It quickly became clear that the consequences of this shift were far more significant and far-reaching than simply changing the workplace's address. They involved a series of rapid, blockbuster transformations that were going to outlast the ‘mandatory lockdown' phase of the pandemic. The 12 chapters collected in this volume provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the impact and the future trajectories of remote work. They raise, discuss and explore fundamental questions emerging around remote work: from the nexus between the location from where work is performed and how it is performed to how remote locations may affect the way work is managed and organised, as well as the applicability of existing legislation. Additional questions concern remote work's environmental and social impact and the rapidly changing nature of the relationship between work and life. The contributions in this edited volume develop along several complementary axes, ranging from the discussion of global and societal dynamics to the implications for the contractual relationship between employers and workers. The transformation of the spatial component of work is considered both as a potential paradigm shift for the world of work and as a challenge for the implementation of specific regulatory regimes. An important insight that emerges from the multidimensional approach of this volume is that the establishment of a worker centred future of (remote) work requires the exploration and development of constructive pathways at different levels and in different directions involving the role of regulators, courts, trade unions, researchers, businesses and workers themselves."

"This Report provides an analysis of the 2022 Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) made by the Council, on a proposal by the Commission, concerning social and labour policies. Account is taken of the main new features of this Semester cycle, notably the integration of the European Semester in the NextGenerationEU strategy and the ongoing energy crisis. The social CSRs are examined from both a thematic and a country perspective. The inclusion of data from previous years' ETUI analysis allows for a comparative outlook and to grasp the overall evolution of the approach of the CSRs to national social and labour policies. Overall, it emerges that, similar to the CSRs adopted in 2020, this year's recommendations do pay attention to the social dimension. However, the analysis also indicates that there is renewed emphasis on the sustainability of public finance and the macroeconomic situation of the countries. This is reflected in recommendations to limit public spending and social investment, especially in pension systems and long-term care."

"This article assesses the impact of the EU recovery strategy in (re)aligning the EU with the pursuit of its social objectives, including those defined in the Porto Declaration. First, the focus is on the major innovations introduced by the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) plan and SURE (a temporary instrument aimed at mitigating unemployment risks during the pandemic) in relation to the social dimension of EU integration. Elements such as the incentive for public investments, softer forms of macroeconomic and fiscal conditionality, and the valorisation of the European Pillar of Social Rights constitute fundamental differences from the approach that had characterised the euro crisis. Subsequently, however, the article shows that this greater openness of EU governance towards social and labour protection policies does not translate into a tangible strengthening of safeguards in the national recovery and resilience plans. The article then argues that achieving the EU's social objectives requires the establishment of more effective incentives, and concludes by proposing a roadmap for future reforms."

"This paper explores the EU recovery strategy with a specific focus on its potentially transformative aspects vis-à-vis European integration and on its implications for the social dimension of the EU's socio-economic governance. It aims, in particular, to provide a reflection on whether the established measures put forward sufficient safeguards against the spectre of austerity and on whether these constitute steps towards disfranchising social and labour policies from being used as ‘variables' of economic growth. Our analysis suggests that the EU recovery strategy has taken remarkable steps in the direction of a more solidaristic and socially embedded Union. However, the foundations of this progress are fragile. European political leaders must ensure that the measures taken are just a first step and are translated into structural reforms. Without changes to the Union's regulatory and governance framework, the only barrier to economic downturns being translated into socially regressive policies is political will."

"Policy considerations
• EU competition law imposes limits on the scope of collective labour law, as it precludes self-employed workers from collective bargaining .
• There is a rising number of self-employed workers whose livelihood are characterised by increasing precariousness and whose working conditions could be improved by ensuring that collective agreements fall outside the scope of competition law.
• The European Commission intends to reform the scope of EU competition law and this could offer an opportunity to define a new regulatory paradigm.
• This policy briefs discusses a possible reconfiguration of the coexistence between collective bargaining and competition law.
• Access to collective bargaining should ensure that employing businesses with a dominant bargaining position do not push labour conditions downwards."

"Policy implications
• The Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and the Porto Social Summit have created a momentum for the enhancement of the social dimension of the European Union (EU), but, so far, without much to show by way of innovation.
• The EU should further expand the legislative agenda in the social and labour fields in order to address the risks of precariousness and degradation of working conditions faced by numerous workers in several sectors.
• The role of the EPSR and of the Social Scoreboard within the European Semester should also be significantly reinforced, so as to establish binding social safeguards supporting the betterment of working and living conditions.
• A highly crucial challenge for EU policymakers is to ensure that the recovery strategy and the digital and green transitions, beside contributing to job creation, also result in better social standards and good-quality professional opportunities."