Articles for tag: Arbeitnehmerschutz, Arbeitsrecht, Bundestariftreuegesetz, Gewerkschaften, Koalitionsfreiheit, Tarifautonomie, Tariftreue, workers rights

Tariftreue light

Ein neues Bundestariftreuegesetz soll den Bund dazu verpflichten, öffentliche Aufträge nur noch an solche Auftragnehmer:innen zu vergeben, die ihren Arbeitnehmer:innen tarifliche Arbeitsbedingungen gewähren – unabhängig davon, ob sie tarifgebunden sind oder nicht. Die Diskussion ist nicht neu: Die Ampel-Koalition scheiterte, bevor ihr Entwurf verabschiedet werden konnte. Am 6. August 2025 hat sich die Regierung im Kabinett auf einen neuen Entwurf geeinigt. Der Entwurf verfolgt das richtige Ziel, ist jedoch nicht konsequent genug, um die Tarifautonomie tatsächlich zu stärken.

20. August 2025

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Taking Labour Law for a Ride

“Decent work in the platform economy” is one of the items the ILO will discuss during its upcoming 113th International Labour Conference from 2 to 13 June 2025 – a first in the ILO’s history. That proper classification of the employment relationship is fundamental to the application of fundamental rights was a critical point of contention among countries, employers and workers at the ILO, and thus brought the item on this year’s agenda. Proper classification of employment relationships remains a challenge, not just for the ILO. So, what exactly is the problem and how can we solve it?

26. Mai 2025

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Karenztage – Falscher Sparversuch auf Kosten der Arbeitnehmer

Die Einführung von Karenztagen in der Lohnfortzahlung im Krankheitsfall wird als Gegenmaßnahme gegen „Krankfeiern“ vorgeschlagen, birgt jedoch erhebliche Risiken. Anstatt den Missbrauch zu verringern, gefährdet sie die soziale Sicherheit der ArbeitnehmerInnen und verkompliziert das bestehende System. Zudem wird die Verantwortung für Missbrauch unzureichend auf die Erkrankten abgewälzt. Historisch betrachtet stellt die Lohnfortzahlung im Krankheitsfall eine wichtige sozialpolitische Errungenschaft und Schutzmaßnahme dar. Letztlich würde die Einführung von Karenztagen nicht nur mehr Kosten verursachen, sondern auch bestehende Kontrollmechanismen schwächen.

10. Februar 2025

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Steht die Mindestlohnrichtlinie vor dem Aus?

Die im Oktober 2022 verabschiedete Richtlinie über angemessene Mindestlöhne in der EU sticht vor allem durch ihren hohen Symbolwert hervor. Dänemark sah die Richtlinie außerhalb der Kompetenzen des Unionsgesetzgebers und klagte, unterstützt von Schweden, vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof. Am 14. Januar 2025 legte Generalanwalt Emiliou seine Schlussanträge vor. Niemand fällt aus allen Wolken, wenn der Generalanwalt bestätigt, dass sich der Unionsgesetzgeber mit der Mindestlohn-RL auf äußerst dünnes Eis begeben hat. Gleichwohl hätte man die Anträge so nicht erwartet. Der GA empfiehlt, die Richtlinie in vollem Umfang für nichtig zu erklären.

16. Januar 2025

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Reframing Harassment as Occupational Safety and Health Issue

In 2019, the International Labor Organization adopted the Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment at Work. The convention has been dubbed a milestone, since it implements a duty of each member state to address this topic through “an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach”. This duty will apply to Germany from the 14th of June, when the convention enters into force. At the event of ratification, the German government expressed its opinion that “in order to meet the requirements of the Convention, no additions to national legislation are necessary.” We will demonstrate that this does not hold true.

13. Juni 2024

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A Hidden Battlefield

The platform work directive proposal presents important implications for the implementation of social security schemes (e.g. those relating to unemployment or incapacity). In particular, it required digital labour platforms to declare and inform social protection authorities of the work performed through the platform and to share with them relevant data, among other aspects. It is important that these implications are maintained in a final instrument, as suggested by the Parliament in its position for trilogue negotiations.

20. Juli 2023

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More than Formal Recognition?

The Commission’s proposal for a Platform Work Directive contains a number of provisions recognising collective labour rights for platform workers, mostly revolving around information and consultation rights for workers’ representatives. This suggests that, at least in principle, extending workplace representation and industrial relation practices to the platform economy is part of the Commission’s policy agenda. However, this blogpost argues that even if certain collective labour rights are formally recognised, the proposed directive does not offer adequate basis for their effective exercise. Trade union organising, collective bargaining and workplace democracy do not find sufficient support in the directive, thus limiting their development within the platform economy.

19. Juli 2023

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How the Platform Work Directive Protects Workers‘ Data

The Commission's proposal of the new platform labour directive came with a core promise to platform workers in the EU: to recognize the impact algorithmic management has on their working conditions. In doing so, the directive seeks to clarify and strengthen data rights of workers, regardless of whether they are classified as employees or not. This blog post argues that the main achievement of the proposed Directive is to clarify and reframe existing norms about automated decision-making in a way that shifts attention from data to working conditions. While the specific proposed provisions do not go far beyond norms already established in the General Data Protection Regulation, they are reframed in a way that clarifies that digital labour platforms have the responsibility to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability when making decisions that rely on algorithms.

19. Juli 2023

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A Timid Proposal

With the Council position of 12 June on the proposal for a EU Directive on improving working conditions in platform work, a presumption of employment status for digital platform work is now becoming the subject of trilogue negotiations. A lot could be said about the proposal, the process, and the innovation that would come with an EU Directive on platform work as such. This comment focuses on one central part of the proposal: the presumption of employment. The Commission’s and Council’s proposals suggest a well meant, but timid instrument. Given the already limited scope of te proposals in their definition of “digital labour platforms”, only the Parliament’s position that does not condition the presumption to any additional criteria is able to convince.

18. Juli 2023

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The Definition of ‘Digital Labour Platform’ in the Proposed Platform Work Directive

On 9 December 2021, the European Commission announced its proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions in platform work—the ‘Platform Work Directive.’ The Directive’s main goals are to reduce false self-employment among persons performing platform work, to regulate algorithmic management on digital labour platforms, and to provide legal certainty for platforms. This blog post focuses on an element of the proposed Directive that has gone relatively unremarked in the scholarly and policy debates so far: the definition of ‘digital labour platform.’

18. Juli 2023

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