5th Trade Union Platfor(u)m

On 24–25 September 2026, the Platforum will return for its fifth edition, bringing together more than 100 trade unionists and platform workers from across Europe, alongside representatives from civil society, academia and politics, in Gdańsk, Poland.

Hosted at the historic Sala BHP, with the support of Solidarność and OPZZ, this year’s Platforum comes at a crucial moment for the future of platform work in Europe. With the deadline for the transposition of the EU Platform Work Directive approaching, attention is increasingly shifting from the adoption of new European rules to the question of how they will be implemented and enforced across Member States.

The stakes are high: the rules and institutions being put in place now will help determine whether platform work develops in a fair and sustainable direction or whether existing inequalities are further deepened. Against this backdrop, the Platforum will provide a space to discuss what ambitious implementation should look like in practice – and how trade unions and platform workers can help shape this process.

Christina Kampmann, Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament and member of the FES Executive Board, will open the conference on behalf of FES. This will be followed by a keynote speech from Sylwia Czubkowska, technology journalist, author and co-host of the podcast Techstorie. Drawing on her work on the power of technology companies and digital platforms, she will set the scene for two days of discussion.

From there, the focus will turn to the political and practical challenges ahead. A high-level discussion will bring together European and national decision-makers, public authorities and trade union representatives to explore how the promises of the Platform Work Directive can be translated into tangible improvements for workers:

• Leila Chaibi, Member of the European Parliament;

• Chiara Rondino, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL), European Commission;

• Mateusz Kotecki, representative of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland;

• Janusz Krason, representative of the Polish National Labour Inspectorate;

• Tea Jarc, Confederal Secretary at the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Together, they will discuss how effective enforcement can be ensured, what challenges Member States face in implementing the Directive, and what role policymakers, labour inspectorates and trade unions must play in making new rights a reality for platform workers.

But the Platforum is not only about high-level political debate. Over two days, practical workshops, exchanges and discussions will give platform workers, trade unionists, academics, practitioners and civil society the opportunity to share experiences from across Europe, identify common challenges and develop strategies for the future.

The programme will therefore also look beyond the immediate implementation of the Platform Work Directive. Participants will explore broader developments shaping the platform economy and the world of work – from algorithmic management and artificial intelligence to collective bargaining, worker organising and stronger cross-border cooperation.

There could hardly be a more fitting place for these discussions than Gdańsk. As a city with a unique place in the history of the European trade union movement, it provides a powerful setting to bring workers, trade unions and policymakers together and ask a fundamental question: how can workers and their organisations shape technological change rather than simply adapt to it?

Further information

5th Platforum on ETUC's website

FES Future of Work's Platform Work Project