Response by the Danish Government to the open public consultation
on a study to support the impact assessment of a possible EU initiative
related to the application of competition rules to collective bargaining
by self-employed workers
In respect of the questionnaire from the Commission, reference is made to
the Danish Government’s response of the 15
th
of February regarding the
inception impact assessment of a possible EU initiative related to the ap-
plication of competition rules to collective bargaining by self-employed
workers.
In addition to our previous comments, the Danish Government would like
to note the following:
-
We do not support a so-called
“third category” on the labour market
supplementing the existing categories of “worker/employee” and
“self-employed.
We are concerned of the risk of a de-facto third
category by introducing special initiatives for platform workers un-
dermining the worker’s rights of this particular group on the labour
market. In our view, focus should be on removing barriers to col-
lective bargaining and organization for all workers, including those
working in bogus self-employment schemes.
In our opinion this initiative concerning the competition rules and
the expected initiative to improve the working conditions of people
providing services through platforms are closely connected. We
find it necessary to discuss and address the initiative concerning
working conditions prior to discussing the consequences for the
competition rules, as the latter should be seen as a derivative issue
of the former.
-
Finally, we would like to reiterate the importance of respecting national
competence and giving the sufficient flexibility to the Member States dif-
ferent labour market models. Working conditions for platform workers and
other people working in atypical employment relations are of high im-
portance to the Danish Government, and we have therefore initiated an
analysis with the aim of pointing to possible solutions. We are looking for-
ward to sharing and discussing the findings of this analysis with the Com-
mission at a later stage.