Is everything turning upside down? - Or an old-new approach to work and protection

Abstract

The proposal for a Directive on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements on working conditions for self-employed workers and on improving the working conditions of platform workers is a major step forward, but still lacks holistic thinking on protection. It is the working person who needs protection in the world of work, where we are faced with a phenomenon such as the platform, where both civil and labour law certainly have work to do. I think that the only thing that matters in terms of protection is the degree of vulnerability, and if the worker is alone, then the worker certainly needs protection, to organise, to consult and to unite. So we are back to the roots. It would be worth rethinking the European Union's directives on employment along these lines and redefining the content of protection along these lines.