The European Commission wants more social protection and rights for casual workers, such as those in the "gig economy", and others with non-standard contracts to try to tackle growing social inequality. The Commission's consultation document on these plans, seen by Reuters, is part of a broader reworking of the EU's economic priorities, after pressure from populist forces that accuse Brussels of having pursued ultra-liberal policies to the detriment of workers. The document proposes a substantial review of EU's social rights that could partly limit workers' flexibility and reduce the growing insecurity caused by new types of jobs offered by firms like Uber and food-delivery service Deliveroo. Brussels is proposing to extend full social protection and other forms of security to all workers, including those on very short-term, part-time and zero-hour contracts who in some EU member countries have lower safeguards. Most EU workers have full-time, permanent contracts, but a growing number of people, especially the young, have jobs with ultra-flexible working hours, no regular pay and fewer employment protections. They accounted for more than one third of the total workforce in the 28-country bloc in 2015 and that share is growing.
