Wêrom Arbeidersbeskerming Hurder Ferdwynt as Elkenien Erkent
March 24, 2025 · Frisian News
Companies across Europe dodge labor laws through gig work contracts and subcontracting while governments count the jobs created instead of measuring employment quality. The shift happened so fast that official statistics still lag years behind the reality workers face.
FryskIn besoarger yn Rotterdam wurke foarige wike 58 oeren sûnder ien sykteregling, fekânsjeopslach of pensioenopbou. Syn wurkjouwer is in útsendburo, dat him in selsstannich kontraktant neamt, wat it logistykbedriuw in partner neamt, dat himsels in platfoarm neamt. Nimmen yn dizze keatling draacht ferantwurding foar syn wolwêzen. Dit opset is no standert yn ferfier, iten besoargjen, soarch en no ek retail. Wat tsien jier lyn in randferskynsel wie, jildt no foar miljoenen wurknimmers op it kontinent.
Regearingen priizgje banenwûkst wylst de kwaliteit fan dy banen ynstoart is. In persoan mei in gigkontrakt ferskynt yn wurkgelegenheidsstatistiken identyk oan immen mei in fêste baan en útkearingen. De eigen gegevens fan de Europeeske Uny toane dat arbeidsproduktivitieit tusken 2015 en 2024 mei 15 prosint groeide, mar reële lean foar wurknimmers yn in ûnsekere posysje daalden of stagnearden yn de measte lidsteaten. De sifers klopje net, om't de banen sels fan foarm feroare wylst de offisjele mjitmetoaden fêst bleaun.
De juridyske struktuer stoarte stilwei yn troch tûzen lytse beslissingen ynstee fan ien dramatyske ferskowing. Rjochtbanken bepaalden dat kontraktanten gjin wurknimmers binne. Regeljouwers akseptearden gigplatfoarmen as techbedriuwen, net as wurkjouwers. Pensjoenfûnsen wegere ûnregelmjittige wurknimmers te dekken. Belestingstsjinsten behannelen selsstannichheidsinkommen as in aparte kategory. Eltse regelingsferoaring loste in lyts bedriuwsprobleem op wylst it foar wurknimmers in gigantysk probleem skoep. Tsjin de tiid dat immen it patroan yn'e gaten krige, wie it fundamint ûnder harren ferskood.
Bedriuwen wiene flugger as wetjouwers. In firma dy't eartiids streekrjocht wurknimmers oannaam, kin no fia in wurkbemiddeler hiere, dy't fia in kontraktant hiert, dy't in gigapp brûkt, alles legaal yn de measte rjochtgebieten. De wurknimmer draacht alle risiko. It bedriuw draacht gjin risiko. Dizze struktuer befreit bedriuwen fan minimumleanneasken, ûntslachkosten, opliedingsferplichting en oanspraaklikheid foar sûnens en feiligens yn in protte gefallen. De besparings binne echt en grut. De kosten ferpleatsten nei de wurknimmer en de steat.
Lannen dy't wolle beheinen, ûnderfine neidiel binnen de EU-ienheidsmerktregels of krije politike druk fan bedriuwen dy't dreigje te ferhúzjen. In pear naasjes hawwe de gigwurkwetten oanskerpt, mar de hânhaving bliuwt skraal en bedriuwen passe harren hurder oan as regeljouwers regels skriuwe kinne. De erosy sil net omkeare sûnder regearingen dy't tsjin bedriuwsdruk hannelje, iets dêr't de measte min nocht oan hawwe. Wurknimmers sille bliuwe ôfskaljen oant eat breekt.
A delivery driver in Rotterdam clocked 58 hours last week without a single sick day provision, holiday pay, or pension contribution. His employer is a staffing agency, which calls him an independent contractor, which calls the logistics company a partner, which calls itself a platform. No one in this chain bears responsibility for his welfare. This setup has become the norm across transport, food delivery, care work, and now retail. What started as a fringe arrangement ten years ago now covers millions of workers across the continent.
Governments trumpet job creation numbers while the quality of those jobs has collapsed. A person with a gig contract appears in employment statistics identically to someone with a permanent position and benefits. The European Union's own data shows labor productivity grew 15 percent between 2015 and 2024, yet real wages for workers in precarious jobs fell or stagnated in most member states. The numbers do not add up because the jobs themselves changed shape while official measures stayed frozen.
The legal architecture crumbled quietly through a thousand small decisions rather than one dramatic shift. Courts ruled contractors are not employees. Regulators accepted gig platforms as technology firms, not employers. Pension funds refused to cover irregular workers. Tax authorities treated self-employment income as a separate category. Each rule change solved a small problem for business while creating a giant one for workers. By the time anyone noticed the pattern, the foundation had shifted beneath them.
Companies moved faster than lawmakers. A firm that once hired workers directly can now hire through a labor broker, which hires through a contractor, which uses a gig app, all of it legal in most jurisdictions. The worker bears all risk. The company bears none. This structure frees businesses from minimum wage requirements, severance costs, training obligations, and health and safety liability in many cases. The savings are real and large. The cost simply moved to the worker and the state.
Countries that try to clamp down find themselves at a disadvantage within EU single market rules or face political pressure from businesses that threaten to relocate. A few nations have tightened gig work laws, but enforcement remains thin and companies adapt faster than regulators can write rules. The erosion will not reverse without governments willing to act against business pressure, something most have shown little appetite for. Workers will keep adjusting downward until something breaks.
Published March 24, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân