Uberisation of workers or will the EU deliver?
The likes of Uber and Deliveroo are quite effective when it comes to ‘quiet’ politics, better known as lobbying. Picture PA
Critics of economic integration often make the argument that the EU is run in the interests of big business and is detached from the material worries and concerns of workers and citizens. Currently, the EU has before it a directive which puts that very argument to the test. The Platform Work Directive seeks to bolster employment rights for 28m workers in the platform economy. However, the well-resourced platforms companies are lobbying heavily to hollow-out its content.
The likes of Uber and Deliveroo are quite effective when it comes to ‘quiet’ politics, better known as lobbying. Uber’s flagrant disregard for laws and its ability to curry favour with politicians is well-documented. The former vice-president of the European Commission Neelie Kroes secretly facilitated Uber’s lobbying of top Dutch politicians, including the (former) prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron of France was particularly receptive to Uber’s advances and its business model as a means for addressing a stubborn unemployment problem. Irish politicians were less receptive to Uber’s overtures, but that might have since changed with the arrival of Deliveroo.
