EU proposals could give millions of gig workers employment rights

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has put forward a series of proposals that could lead to millions of gig workers across the bloc getting similar legal protections to traditional employees. In a press release, the Commission says these rights would include a minimum wage (where applicable), collective bargaining, paid leave, unemployment and sickness benefits, and pensions.

The Commission says an estimated 28 million people in the EU currently work through “digital labor platforms,” and of these, as many as 5.5 million may be incorrectly classified as being self-employed. So, with its new rules, the EU wants to lay out a series of criteria that will clearly determine whether a platform is a simple...

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