Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
Ref. Ares(2021)6978171 - 12/11/2021
Ref. Ares(2021)7535724 - 07/12/2021
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021 at 10:00 [Luxembourg, 7 Rue du Marché-aux-Herbes]
Briefing coordination:
Main contributors:
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
Scene setter
On 29/10/2021 from 10:00 to 10.30, you will meet with Amazon European
VP, Jorrit
van der Meulen, in Luxembourg.
They requested the meeting to discuss their continuing investment in Europe. They
also invited you to visit an Amazon Fulfilment Centre, to see their operations at first
hand - and to learn about Amazon’s job creation and skills programs. But this meeting
has been accepted instead.
This meeting could be an occasion to:
-
Highlight the need to address algorithmic management,
-
Reiterate our commitment to social dialogue,
-
Invite Amazon to join the Pact for skills
-
Acknowledge the importance of Amazon: workforce of more than 175,000 full-
time employees in Europe. In Luxembourg, Amazon has grown from fewer than
300 people in 2011 to more than 3,000 and plans to create some 600 new jobs
in Luxembourg this year (grow by 20%).
Speaking points
[Algorithmic management at Amazon]
Algorithms are increasingly used to
manage workers. We see this happening
predominantly in
platform work, but algorithmic management is also spreading to
more ‘traditional’ sectors, such as
warehousing and logistics.
As a global online retail leader, you are well
aware of such developments.
New technologies can lead to innovation, boost productivity and support job
creation. Still,
algorithmic management also brings distinct challenges that,
unless addressed, could
undermine existing labour rights and protections.
Challenges include increased psychosocial
stress (as people feel constantly
watched and evaluated) or lack of understanding how one’s behaviour influences
decisions taken by the algorithm.
At
European level, we already have existing and proposed regulations that
address certain aspects of the use of artificial intelligence in the work context.
These include:
o
the General Data Protection Regulation and
o the proposed
Artificial Intelligence Act, which address fundamental
challenges on the use of AI in the world of work – such as the risk of
discrimination and the need to protect personal data.
[Platform work]
The upcoming initiative on improving the
working conditions in platform work will
aim to create a level playing field for platforms to support their sustainable growth,
but not at expense of people (100+ court cases). It will focus on
three core issues:
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
1. employment status,
2. algorithmic management and
3. cross-border transparency (i.e. information to adminstrations/workers).
Commission envisages adoption on 8 December.
[Social dialogue]
The rights of workers, including their right to freely organise themselves
in trade
unions are at the core of the European social model. The EU and particularly the
European Commission attaches
a great importance to social dialogue.
This is also
reflected under Principle 8 of the European Pillar of Social Rights,
our European social agenda.
The Commission calls on the Member States, on social partners and all
stakeholders concerned, including employers, to engage into
genuine dialogue
and work together.
On various occasions, our analysis has underlined
the benefits of strong social
dialogue, including collective bargaining with sound institutions and capable social
partners. They are the best placed to discuss and find solutions that work for both
workers and employers, as shown by numerous examples.
We will continue to
monitor the situation at EU level, including in the context of
international relations, while keeping in mind the national competences as well as
the principle of autonomy of the social partners.
[Skills]
The recent
Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights sets the target
that by 2030, 60% of adults should participate in training every year.
But we are
not even at 40%. We need a fresh approach to up- and reskilling in Europe.
The Commission, as part of its Skills Agenda, has put forward a
Pact for Skills,
where Public and private organisations join forces and take concrete action for up
and reskilling.
The Pact includes
individual commitments, such as new training opportunities for
employees, as well as
large-scale partnerships in the 14 industrial ecosystems of
the EU industry strategy
I would like to
invite Amazon to join the
Pact for Skills
o either by committing individually to the charter of the Pact and making
specific commitments for up and reskilling
o or by contributing to the establishment of a skills partnership in the digital
ecosystem or, better still, by doing both.
From the first quarter of 2022 the Commission will provide
support services to
help form and consolidate those large-skills partnerships and to facilitate
networking and learning of members of the Pact to deliver on their commitments.
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
Later this year, we will present a proposal for
individual learning accounts, an
initiative which places the individuals in the driving seat of their learning pathway.
This is not simply a question of more money for training. We also need to help
learners find the
right training, as well as access guidance and support, and get
recognition for their learning.
We cannot reach results without
employers. You know what kind of training is
needed in your field and you should be involved in the design and delivery of these
new schemes.
Defensives
Why do we need further action, as the proposed AI Act and GDPR solve all
identified algorithmic management challenges?
Some parts of our social life might remain not covered by the AI Act proposal. It is
essentially a product safety legislation, which introduces safeguards before AI
systems are placed on the market, put into service and used.
Its logic cannot take into account the specificities of employment relations. For one,
it does not reflect at all the importance of social dialogue in the world of work.
It also cannot be the basis for specific rights and rules in employment relations,
which have been established over decades.
Regarding the GDPR, it offers some protections, but we see the potential need to
build upon those.
Do you intend to focus algorithmic management provisions on platform workers
only, or more broadly on the world of work?
The President’s mandate for this Commission is clear – we need to improve the
working conditions of people working through platforms.
Tackling algorithmic management challenges is an integral part of our work to
deliver on this commitment.
Some stakeholders tell us we should tackle algorithmic challenges more broadly
and look beyond platform work.
I believe this might be premature. It is true that algorithmic management has started
to spread, but it is still largely predominant in the platform economy.
We need to focus our efforts and tackle problems where they have been identified,
without stifling the innovation potential of new technologies.
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
Background
Platform work state of play
Second phase of consultation of EU social partners ended on 15 September. Both
sides agreed on the challenges, but differ on what should be done. Trade unions favour
action at EU level, while employers insist on national action and better enforcement of
existing rules.
EP own-initiative report on platform work adopted on 15 September advocates strong
action at European level, and in particular a rebuttable presumption of employment
status for people working through platforms.
Impact assessment process is ongoing (Regulatory Scrutiny Board meeting 27
October).
Social dialogue
Legal basis
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises and promotes
the role of social partners at its level [provisions of Article 152].
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union recognises:
o the freedom of assembly and association [under Article 12], and
o the right of collective bargaining and action [at Article 28].
The Charter applies to Member States
when they implement EU law [pursuant
to Article 51(1) of the Charter]
.
Right of association, the
right to strike and the right to impose lockouts fall
outside the competence of the EU in the field of social policy [Article 153 (5) of
the Treaty].
International level
The freedom of association and the right of workers to organise themselves are
enshrined in:
o
the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to
Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and
o the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No.
98) of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) ratified by all EU
Member States. The standard supervisory system of the ILO may
assess compliance by a Member State and other ILO members with
these international labour standards, recognised internationally as
human rights instrument.
Amazon
In
Europe, Amazon has a workforce of more than
175,000 full-time employees. It has
created around 40,000 new permanent roles in Europe in 2021.
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
In
Luxembourg, Amazon has grown from fewer than 300 people in 2011 to more than
3,000. Amazon is planning to create some 600 new jobs in Luxembourg this year (grow
by 20%).
The Amazon EU Operations network consists
of 69 fulfillment centres in Germany
(31), France (10), Spain (10), Italy (8), Poland (8), Slovakia (1) and Czechia (1).1
Since 2010, Amazon has
invested more than
€78 billion in Europe.
Digital control tools and workers’ rights – the Amazon example
In September 2020, media reported that Amazon was hiring two Intelligence Analysts
to work in an Amazon facility located in the Phoenix, Arizona area of the United States.
The purported role of these analysts was to monitor (and presumably prevent) various
perceived threats to Amazon including organised labour. Another report then followed
on how Amazon purportedly monitored their delivery drivers by accessing private
Facebook groups. The names of workers and their comments had been purportedly
logged by Amazon employees without regard to right to privacy.
The media reports generated much backlash, including in the EU – you received,
together with Commissioner Breton, two letters of protest against Amazon by social
partners: from the European Transport Workers’ Federation and from Uni Europa.
It is important to note that the use of AI systems has not been implicated directly in the
above example of Amazon purportedly spying on its workforce. It is nevertheless a fair
assumption that automated systems would be implicated if the purported practices
were to be applied more broadly across company, given the size of its global workforce
(1.3 million as of July 2021) and its leadership position in developing and implementing
AI systems.
In fact, Amazon has been at the forefront of developing AI-powered software and digital
tools to optimise the organisation of working processes in its warehouses worldwide.
For example, in the beginning of 2018, the company was granted two patents for a
wristband that can pinpoint the location of warehouse employees and track their hand
movements in real time. The proposed system includes ultrasonic devices placed
around the warehouse, the wristbands themselves, and a management module that
oversees everything. The wristbands also feature an ultrasonic unit used to track where
the worker is in relation to any particular inventory bin. If their hands are moving to the
wrong item, the bracelet vibrates.
While there are no indications that the wristbands have been put in practice, such
developments exemplify the potential of AI-powered digital tools to increasingly monitor
and control workers and their environment.
The company (through Amazon Web Services) is also a world market leader in the
provision of cloud services worldwide, which has important implications about its
access to data to train and develop world-leading AI solutions.
1
Amazon Distribution Network Strategy | MWPVL International
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
GDPR (JUST)
[Two of the main requirements under the GDPR are lawfulness and transparency.
Lawfulness means that employers need to be able to base their processing on one of
the grounds listed in Article 6 GDPR. Examples are processing that is required by law
(e.g. documentation to be kept for compliance with tax rules) or that is necessary to
perform their contract with their employee (e.g. to pay the salary).]
Article
88 GDPR contains a specification clause allowing Member States to
provide,
by law or collective agreement, more specific rules in the employment context.
These rules may cover the performance of the contract of employment, including
management, planning and organisation of work, equality and diversity in the
workplace, health and safety at work, and protection of employer's or customer's
property. These national rules set out in detail what employers can and cannot do.
Transparency means that employers have to tell their employees how they will
process their data – which data, what for, who gets to see it, for how long will it be
kept. Unless there is a specific legal authorisation, e.g. in the national labour rules
mentioned, covert processing is not allowed.
Spain has not formally notified their national laws implementing GDPR. A new organic
Law 3/2018 was adopted on 5 December 2018 on the protection of personal data and
safeguarding of digital rights that contains several relevant provisions with to data
protection in the context of employment.
COMP
In the first, data-related case, the Commission addressed a
Statement of Objections to Amazon in November last year. Amazon submitted its response to that Statement of
Objections on 31 March 2020. Based on the Commission's preliminary fact-finding,
Amazon Retail’s automated systems and employees appear to be using competitively
sensitive and publicly non-available information about marketplace sellers, their
products and transactions on the marketplace, to inform Amazon Retail’s own business
decisions. Such cross-usage of sensitive information about its retail competitors may
distort online retail competition, and lead to the marginalisation of competing online
retailers. The Commission (DG Competition) is currently assessing Amazon’s response
to those preliminary findings.
In the second case, the preliminary investigation is still on-going. It focuses on the
preferential settings that may apply to Amazon Retail’s offers, and offers of sellers that
use Amazon’s fulfilment (logistics and delivery) services, in the selection of the winner
of the
“Buy Box”, and in the selection of
Prime eligible sellers and offers.
The
Buy Box prominently shows on Amazon’s website the offer of one single seller for
the chosen product, with the possibility for the consumer to directly purchase it. The
very same product may be sold by many other sellers, but the offers of those sellers
are only visible after further clicks to the listing page. Winning the Buy Box is essential
for the marketplace sellers, as a vast majority (around 85%) of transactions are
channelled through the Buy Box. Competition on the Amazon platform is thus heavily
impacted by the way sellers are selected to win the Buy Box.
Prime consumers are also very important to sellers, not only because an ever-
increasing number of Amazon consumers subscribe to Amazon’s Prime programme,
but also because Prime consumers typically spend significantly more money on
Amazon than other consumers. The investigation is assessing whether access to
Prime consumers is biased in favour of Amazon Retail and sellers that use its logistics
and delivery services.
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Meeting with Amazon European VP, Jorrit van der Meulen
29/10/2021, 10:00-10.30 [Luxembourg], Basis 904
CV - Jorrit van der Meulen
Mr Jorrit Van Der Meulen is currently
o Vice President, Amazon Europe Retail at Amazon Europe
o Vice President, Europe at Amazon International
Jorrit was Vice President for Zillow.com. He served as Vice President, Content Sites
and Head of Devices for Amazon.
He has a Bachelor of Arts from University of Washington in 1988 and a Master of
Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1998.
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