Digital platform workers,their right to decent remuneration,and artificial intelligence – A European perspective

Abstract

In this article, we examine working conditions of platform workers, with a particular focus on how their right to decent remuneration is protected. Through the lens of vulnerability, a universal human condition, we analyse how AI-empowered platforms pose risks to the right of decent remuneration in Europe. Our motivation is that these workers often face uncertainty and vulnerable pay conditions. Their vulnerability has recently intensified, particularly with the increased use of AI, where human oversight is often limited, invisible, or difficult to ensure. We analyse how AI-driven digital platforms such as Uber, Bolt, Delivery Hero, and Deliveroo organize work arrangements and how they may undermine working conditions. Our objective is to examine how this right is impacted as a core of economic justice, bringing insights from AI, labour law, and vulnerability. In this article, we identify three principal areas of vulnerability affecting platform workers’ right to decent remuneration: (1) uncertainty and low remuneration levels; (2) a lack of transparency in the mechanisms determining remuneration; and (3) the risk of algorithmic errors, discrimination, and unequal treatment. Then we analyse the recent EU directives (Directive (EU) 2024/2831 on improving working conditions in platform work, Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union, and Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions), and examine the extent to which they respond to these vulnerabilities and highlight the areas in which legal protection remains insufficient.