Sustainable social security and social protection systems in the digital era (own-initiative opinion)

Given the current and future threats to access social security faced by people in the new forms of work, the EESC recommends that the Member States and European courts regulate these new forms of employment. Member States should consider linking up the electronic systems of their health and pension insurance schemes with those of their tax administrations and making it mandatory that individuals generating professional income pay contributions. It should further be examined whether a part of the digitisation dividend could be used to ensure the sustainability of the social security systems.

Key points

Given this situation, the EESC:

• recommends that the Member States and European courts regulate the new forms of employment, so that the employer and the worker can be clearly identified. To this end, the EESC recommends drawing on European Court of Justice case-law, which has recognised the status of worker in the case of people who, although without a standard contract of employment, were carrying out an activity within a remunerated relationship of dependency;
• considers it imperative that the debate launched by the European Commission on developing a European Pillar of Social Rights also encompass the situation of workers engaged in the new forms of employment and, above all, look at how to recognise their status and ensure they have adequate access to social security and social protection systems;
• recommends that the Member States consider linking up the electronic systems of their national pension schemes, or health insurance schemes, with those of their tax administrations. This would enable Member States to quickly identify the people who, although they are receiving income from gainful employment, do not have the status of insured in the public pension system or in the health insurance system;
• believes that the Member States should consider introducing a requirement into their legislation governing pension schemes making it mandatory to pay contributions for all individuals generating professional income;
• calls on the Member States to explore ways of funding social security systems that not only ensure the sustainability of those systems, but also meet the need to provide access to them to people engaged in the new forms of work. To ensure the sustainability of the social security systems in the future and to reduce the burden on the labour force, it should be examined whether part of the digitisation dividend could be used for this purpose;
• and recommends further examining the current proposal that an unemployment insurance scheme be established at EU level.