Europe’s On-Demand Economy Draws Complaints. And Regulators.<br />A flexible work force allows for “billions of euros of economic growth, millions of new jobs, flexible working hours,<br />and more balanced work and family life,” Juri Ratas, the Estonian prime minister, said at a European Union summit last week in Tallinn focused on the future of the digital economy.<br />“But people are seeing how harsh those circumstances can be.”<br />Britain recently undertook a review of “modern working practices.” It looked at firms<br />that rely heavily on precarious contracts and urged changes such as closing legal loopholes that let temporary workers be paid less than regular employees in the same jobs; extending holiday and sick pay to on-demand “gig economy” workers; and allowing parental leave for the self-employed.<br />Uber has said it will appeal the ruling, and the company’s new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, apologized for its “mistakes.”<br />The European Commission, meanwhile, backed a proposal last week to combat what critics say is a race to the bottom in social standards for workers with ultra-flexible working hours<br />and no regular salary, a group which now accounts for about a third of Europe’s work force.<br />“In a job you can negotiate with the boss — we can’t do that,” said Mr. Biswas, who had dragged himself<br />on crutches to a demonstration against precarious forms of work recently in central London.<br />It is part of a broader push in Brussels for better access to social benefits, from written contracts to unemployment insurance, for self-employed<br />and temporary workers, as well as for hundreds of thousands of people in jobs with no minimum hours or pay.
