Third Trade Union Platfor(u)m

On September 25 and 26, around 160 trade unionists and gig workers from across Europe, along with representatives from civil society and politics, attended the invitation of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and FES Future of Work to this year's trade union conference on platform work in Paris. The event was hosted by the French trade unions CFDT, CGT, FO, CFTC Media, and UNSA. The conference provided a space to share experiences and develop strategies for improved organization and representation of digital labor platform workers. This is particularly important as many platform workers continue to face precarious working conditions and are often subject to unfair pressures from platform operators.

Transposition of Platform Directive at the Centre of Debates

A central theme of this year's conference was the national transposition of the EU Platform Work Directive, which was adopted by the European Council in March 2024. In a high-level debate, Li Andersson, Chair of the EMPL Committee in the European Parliament, emphasized that the transposition of the platform directive into national law is an opportunity to eliminate legal uncertainties. Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, added: "We have to make sure that the spirit of the Platform Work Directive is preserved and not weakened when transposed into national legislation."

Morgan Sweeney, Dauphine Université Paris, in a keynote speech, focused on the tangible gains brought by the Platform Work Directive.

FES-EPSU Workshop on Care Platforms

Several workshops at the conference addressed specific aspects of platform work, such as algorithmic management and organization of work, gender and migration issues, and challenges in new sectors of platform work. One of these, organized by FES Future of Work together with EPSU (the European Federation of Public Service Unions), focused on care platforms and their impacts and challenges from a trade union perspective.

In recent years, the poor working conditions of workers in the platform-based ‘gig’ economy have garnered considerable media attention. Public debates often focus on offline services like food delivery and Uber driving or the "clickworkers" who complete fully digital micro-tasks on platforms. However, some platform-mediated gig services, such as care work, have received little media attention despite their growing importance.

One striking fact is that the number of caregivers on the platform Care.com alone vastly exceeds the number of Uber drivers globally. In 2018, there were 12.7 million caregiver profiles registered on Care.com, compared to 3.9 million Uber drivers worldwide. At the same time, nearly all EU countries are experiencing significant staff shortages in the care sector, making the long-term care platform economy a critical issue.

To address these challenges, FES Future of Work and EPSU presented research findings from their joint study on care platforms. Claire Marzo, from the University Paris Est and Coordinator of the CEPASSOC, also delivered a brief presentation on defining and identifying care platform work, as well as how to assess and regulate this emerging sector.

Next Trade Union Platfor(u)m in 2025

Further information on the second Trade Union Platfor(u)m is available below, and a fourth edition is expected to take place in September 2025.