The report of the Legislative Drafting Labour Committee, for the incorporation of European Directive 2024/2831 concerning the improvement of the working conditions of platform workers, was received by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Niki Kerameus.
The report was delivered by the Committee’s president, associate professor of Labour Law at the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Ioannis Skandalis, in the presence of the Secretary General for Labour Relations, Nikos Milapidis.
The minister thanked Mr. Skandalis and all the members of the Committee for the significant effort they made in drafting the report, while also noting that “the main objective of the Ministry of Labour is the improvement of working conditions and the strengthening of labour rights. In this direction, we are focusing on a large group of workers, platform workers, with the aim of modernizing and strengthening their work framework”.
The report of the Legislative Drafting Committee has been sent to the National Social Partners, accompanied by a letter in which Ms. Kerameus will invite their representatives to participate in a meeting at the Ministry of Labour with the purpose of exchanging views on the report of the Working Group and the final shaping of the forthcoming relevant bill.
As with every legislative initiative of the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Niki Kerameus, in this case too, dialogue with the national social partners constitutes a critical step for shaping a modern and fair institutional framework that will respond to European directions and the needs of the Greek economy.
It is noted that with the promoted draft law, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is setting, for the first time, distinct limits on the use of algorithmic and automated Artificial Intelligence systems used in human resources management, in order to limit their uncontrolled operation.
The draft law under consideration moves along two main axes:
First, it strengthens the protection of workers by prohibiting the processing of particularly sensitive personal data, such as information about their emotional or psychological state, private conversations, biometric data, or health data, and by providing for impact assessment, information about the algorithms and the data used, as well as measures to protect their health and safety from the automated management of work.
Second, it puts a brake on the uncontrolled management of human resources through Artificial Intelligence and automated systems, as critical decisions are not left exclusively to them, but are subject to human oversight, while workers have the right to an explanation and review.
At the same time, the evaluation of the algorithms is provided for with the participation of workers’ representatives, as well as mandatory information and consultation before the introduction of such systems.