Defining and Protecting Autonomous Work

This chapter focuses on the interpretative issues that digitalization and its implications on autonomy at work pose to both organizational and labour law scholars. Firstly, considering the current debate in organizational literature, the authors argue that much of the organizational scholars' inability to clarify whether digitalization leads to increasing subordination and standardization of work or, conversely, if it enhances workers' autonomy heavily depends on the use of an unclear definition of autonomy and the lack of empirical studies that analytically identify the aspects of work over which workers can exercise their autonomy.

Then, the chapter turns attention to the Labour Law debate and critical reflection on the autonomy-subordination conceptual distinction which is today increasingly challenged by two empirical opposite trends associated with the digitalization of work: On the one hand, the rapidly increasing number of European employees who can decide where, when and how to perform their work, thus appearing less and less subject to strict hetero-direction, and on the other hand, an equally increasing number of (at least formally) self-employed workers operating through digital platforms whose operational logic is a black-box that they cannot completely know, influence or access.

Against this background, the chapter introduces concepts and analytical distinctions drawn from some organizational theories reflecting a processual perspective on organization and highlights how such a conceptual framework may boost an interdisciplinary reflection and inform the empirical analysis aimed at addressing the complex issue of autonomy in and beyond the employment relationship.





2.                  Manos Matzaganis - False starts, wrong turns, and dead ends: How (not) to ensure social protection for all workers.

This chapter investigates the challenges for social policy that recent trends pose despite the fact that the relative weight of self-employment has actually declined over time in more countries than it has increased. On the one hand, the emergence of platform ('gig') work causes dependent self-employment to spread more widely than it did before. On the other hand, the decline of earnings from traditional forms of self-employment (artisans, small traders), and by younger entrants to the professions (lawyers, engineers), has given rise to income poverty - which, even when bolstered by the availability of wealth assets, remains a shocking experience for middle-class families.In view of all that, the European Pillar of Social Rights has called for the right to adequate social protection to be extended to all workers, and, under comparable conditions, the self-employed, regardless of the type and duration of their employment relationship. The goal is commendable. The means for achieving it are less clear. This chapter critically reviews some of the approaches recently taken in Europe and beyond, it then cautions against some of the policy solutions advocated, before finally tracing a possible way forward.







3.                  Adalberto Perulli - Beyond Subordination: Expanding the Scope of Labour Law

This chapter provides critical reflection upon the evolution of the autonomous work and increasing need to extend the protections to all working individuals including self-employed. The author proposes an analysis basing on four arguments: social, historical, economic and comparative. While underlining the artificial nature of the traditional distinction between autonomous and subordinate work, he argues the need to search for other innovative solutions like selective application of certain kinds of protections.

The chapter analyses in a comparative perspective the techniques adopted in different European countries supporting the view that self-employment or dependent self-employment is not an alternative to subordination but just another way of working for others which merits all necessary protections and guarantees and as well as full recognition of the whole range of fundamental human rights including rights for collective bargaining and collective representation. In this regard the restrictions posed by competition law must be revisited and reassessed. 





4.                  Daria Sarti, Teresina Torre- Employee and Self-Employed in Working Life: Is it there a Real Difference?This chapter aims at analyzing the reshaping of the traditional difference existing between "salaried employees" and "self-employed workers" as some of the deep changes that have been observed in the working world in the recent decades, which seems to be one among those that are studied very little. According to the classic literature, these typologies represent two completely separate situations, having a strong and relevant reference in the legal dimension. It has been ascertained a rapid and steady increase in the number of self-employed individuals.



This chapter is aimed to deepen these two different working status entering into some crucial dimensions, to understand if and where they are conditioning working practices and if it is possible to confirm or not the existence of a gap between the two - apparently? - different "worlds".

In order to examine this topic, the authors use an international large dataset (the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) conducted in 2015 on a large sample of workers from the EU35 and which is the most recent at disposal, which offer the opportunity to compare the effective situation in many European countries, so enabling a contribution to understand if this way to classify working status continues to be useful or not to capture the evolution of work. In the end of paper, the authors propose stimulus for further research in this direction.





5.                  Edoardo Ales - Autonomous and Autonomized Work Relationships: an Interdisciplinary Perspective on Social Protection

This chapter aims at providing a conceptual framework to social protection of autonomous work in the light of the analysis of emerging social needs that the welfare state have to cope with in forms and with tools that may differ from the traditional one adopted in case of subordinate work. The chapter criticized the 'package approach' of some legislators that just extends Labour Law and Social Security protection typical of subordination to self-employed without previously analyzing the kind of needs that are actually facing.

The chapter focuses also on the question whether 'autonomized' subordination may need a different regulative and protective status because of the absence of some organizational constraints attached to full subordination.

 

Section 2 At the boundaries of Labour Law: Discovering new regulatory horizons of autonomous work.

The aim of this section is to provide a critical overview of the legal status and working conditions of self-employed workers including new categories of gig workers and traditional categories of liberal professionals. Particular attention is paid to the existing mismatch between the scope of protective regulations and the established criteria for the classification of workers which are apparently unable to guarantee the respect of fundamental rights to the working individuals and combat the abusive and exploitative practices. In this regard crucial role may be played by social partners as collective representation represents one of the most powerful tools to ensure the respect of basic labour rights for the autonomous workers. Considering particular characteristics of this category of workers the papers address innovative strategies adopted by trade unions to better meet the needs of these workers trying to get better advantage from the technological achievements. Finally, the attention is reserved to the barriers that competition and anti-trust law create with respect to the exercise by the autonomous workers of the fundamental rights for collective bargaining and collective representation. 





6.                  Stefano Bini - Blockchain: between Autonomization and Automatization. New Challenges for Labour Law

This chapter provides a critical reflection on the fact that Labour Law is called to rethink, in the light of autonomization in employment and automatization in decisions, some of its landmarks and, probably, the same perimeter of its borders, more and more porous. Taking the cue from the analysis of the existing regulatory sources at the Italian and European levels - also through a contamination with other spheres of knowledge - the chapter offers a theoretical analysis and a critical reflection on the impact blockchain produces on employment relationship and labour regulation, exploring this new disruptive technology as a sort of fertile ground for experimentation of a new relationship between humanism and technique.In front of a "subordination" increasingly autonomous and an "autonomy" further and further dependent, the diffusion of blockchain - innovative technology well known for its use in the bitcoin field - poses some relevant issues, giving rise to critical questions also for labour law.



Considering its nature of trustless technology, whose functioning is possible thanks to the combination of intricate machine learning algorithms, the ratio of this disruptive technology could be identified in the "celebration" of autonomy, in the decision-making process, as well as in the carrying out of complex processes.

The spread of this phenomenon, also and especially in the organization of the productive scenario, leads indeed to wonder about the need to rethink the regulatory system governing the employment relationship, focusing on the possibility to recognize a legal status and, therefore, a legal recognition to this new disruptive technology.



7.                  Joanna Unterschütz- Abandon Hope All Ye Who (Press) Enter Here. Collective Rights of Platform Workers: An Illusion or Hope for New Developments? 



This chapter focuses on the most innovative trade unions strategies towards the organisation of platform workers such as for example worker-centred API (application programming interface) arguing technical progress opens a number of opportunities to deal with workers representation and new technology can be a strong ally to workers and trade unions.

In fact, the digital economy is growing exponentially permeating various fields of the economy: from retail and transportation, through health and education, to personal relationships in social media.The number of registered users of Upwork and Freelancer platforms has grown from about 2.5 million in 2005 to almost 50 million in 2016. Such a rapid increase of the number of such workers reveals numerous problems in relation to their labour rights including the collective ones challenging the traditional institutions of collective labour law such as the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike that should be adapted to the new realities and needs of the changing world of work.







8.                  Silvia Rainone- Collective Bargaining and Self- Employed Workers: The Need for a Paradigm Shift

This chapter focuses on the recent regulatory developments concerning atypical and non-subordinate workers in terms of extending the protection to self-employed. 

By reflecting upon the inadequacy of the current legal framework with regard to the scope of application of labour law the author argues the artificial nature of binary division between workers and self-employed which brings to the violation of the instruments of international law, including the fundamental right to collective bargaining. Thus, the chapter illustrates the different coexistence of the EU competition law and collective bargaining in the attempt to explore the potential conflict between the two disciplines in order to reconsider them in the light of their normative function.

On the basis of this "return to the origins" a paradigm shift regarding the scope of the right of collective bargaining is proposed alone with some concrete examples of how this paradigm shift could be applied considering current EU competition law reform proposal.





9.                  Leonardo Battista- Social security for self-employed in EU Law: a minimum level playing field?

This chapter focus on the available legal options in the framework of EU law for the creation of a minimum level playing field in social security system for self-employed workers. Due the impact of digitalization and technological development, new forms of work are emerging in various sectors, bringing to a marked shift away from traditional employment relationships to non-standard forms of employment and self-employment, traditionally less covered by social security as well. European institutions, aware of this issue, are dealing with possible measures capable to cope with this phenomenon. 

The chapter will deal with two different proposals: one based on the art. 153, comma 2, TFEU and one on exploiting the so-called flexibility clause (art. 352 TFEU). Two different legal options with a similar political obstacle, namely the unanimous approval by the Council.





10.              Matteo Avogaro - Income Support Policies in the Framework of Liberal Professions: A Pathway for Coordinated Conditions in a Common Market?

The chapter provides a comparative analysis of the income support measures applied to liberal professionals. During the last decade, the increasing income inequality made income support policies one of the main topic in the labour law debate encompassing both traditional income support instruments - like an update of unemployment benefits and more straightforward one like the introduction of minimum compensation schemes to prevent workers exploitation.

By analyzing statistical data, the chapter challenges a deeply-rooted bias that liberal professionals do not need income protection as they are able to ensure sufficient for the decent life income. In support of this argument the chapter provides a comparative benchmark exploring the situation in France, Italy and Spain sustaining the idea of the need of a coordinated European strategy aimed to strengthen income and working conditions of weaker liberal professionals across the EU-27 and arguing its compatibility with the existing EU legal framework and anti-trust law.





11.              Iacopo Senatori - ConclusionThis chapter will summarize the main findings of the book with the aim to cast light on the ongoing global trends in the field of self-employment affected by technological transformation and digitalisation, determine open questions and topics for further research and possible fields for intervention by social partners and policymakers, and suggest useful policy proposals. In a broader perspective a reflection upon the adequacy of the existing traditional forms of workers representation and their interrelation with the emerging alternative forms of representation as well as with the legislative provisions in different countries is proposed.