The Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (FNV, Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging) issued a statement regarding a recent court decision rejecting a motion to recognize Uber Platform drivers as employees. This motion was filed as part of a class action lawsuit. According to the court, the differences between individual drivers are too great to issue a general ruling for the entire group. However, the court did not rule out the possibility that drivers could be considered employees, but this must be determined on a case-by-case basis.
FNV expressed disappointment with the decision. It had expected that at least those who work exclusively for Uber would be recognized as employees. FNV believes that Uber’s current model encourages so-called bogus self-employment, which weakens the social system and leads to unfair competition.
The union is currently considering filing an appeal against the ruling to a higher court.
Of course, this case doesn’t directly concern our work, but it illustrates possible scenarios if Polish trade unions representing individuals working as Platform Suppliers decided to file a class action lawsuit against their employers. The situation becomes even more difficult because, given the current rates and volume of orders, virtually no one works exclusively for a single Platform.
#zentrale_international