Platform Work

corridor cleaning lady — picture alliance / DC_2/Shotshop | DC 2

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Together with the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and in cooperation with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), FES Future of Work organised the policy conference “Work Ahead: Labour in the Platform Economy” in Brussels.

The event first presented the results of the international research project “Mapping Platform Economy,” which examines the platform economy landscape across more than 30 European countries, alongside the report “Online Platforms and Platform Work.”

The conference also provided an opportunity to discuss the EU Directive on Platform Work, highlighting its importance in setting minimum standards for working conditions, ensuring fair treatment, and strengthening collective rights for platform workers across Europe. This discussion was combined with a broader exchange on the legislative process aimed at improving conditions for workers on digital labour platforms and addressing the employment implications of the AI Act.

Finally, the event offered a forward-looking perspective: the platform economy is driving changes that increasingly affect all workers, from wage stagnation and fragmented labour to the growing use of digital surveillance tools. The discussion explored which elements could form a progressive agenda to tackle these challenges, including the specific impact on women and migrant workers, who are often disproportionately represented in platform work and face additional vulnerabilities.

Platform economy began to emerge in Nordic countries – as in Germany and the rest of Europe - in the mid-2000s due to rapidly developing technological innovations and emergency of new business models. International online platforms such as Foodora, Hilf or Wolt have their headquarters or were founded in Nordic countries, whereas in Germany – Gorillas and Delivery Heroes were founded.

Even if the size of platform economy in Nordic countries and Germany is increasing, there is not much known about online platforms and platform work e.g., number of online platforms or socio-demographic characteristics of platforms workers. In both cases, the lack of regulations has drastic consequences for platform workers, who work often under precarious conditions.

In Finland, platforms are not discussed as a separate sphere needing special regulations. In Sweden, the most common issues in the debate are working conditions, employment security, decent pay, excessive control and surveillance, and collective agreements for platform companies. Unlike in other countries, in Denmark, in 2021, a collective agreement was reached with the food delivery platforms Just Eat, COOP FOOD and FØTEX together with a public campaign on fair transport, fair prices and fair working conditions.

In the case of Norway, there is currently no consensus on whether online platform companies are to be considered employers in Norway. According to Norwegian labour law, employment status is to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Platform companies vary in terms of the extent to which workers are dependent on, and subordinated to, the companies, the core criteria for determining employment status in Norwegian labour law.

In Germany, even if platform work has not received much attention in the public debate, many issues relating to digital transformation have been discussed under the caption of Industry 4.0 by industry representatives and state actors. The importance of data protection at the workplace has had a particularly prominent place in the public debate. Various parties and trade unions have been calling for an employee data-protection law in addition to the requirements laid down in the GDPR.

This report identifies several areas within the platform landscape that require further attention from policymakers. Specifically, we highlight the importance of national registries to collect relevant information on platform companies, the use of automated systems in platform-mediated work and the importance of intersectionality in establishing a social dialogue culture and future policymaking.

To date, only a few EU Member States, e.g. Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark, have moved to introduce legally binding definitions of online platforms and taken court rulings on the employment status of platform workers into account. But, in some cases, where registries for platform companies exist at the national level, information on platforms and national data are still not publicly available. For the other European countries, it is still uncertain how many active platforms are in a country, how many people are working on them and with what employment status they work. This type of information is particularly important in addressing the legal responsibility of platform companies, not only in terms of the quality of services provided, but also with a view toward fair working conditions for workers employed by these platforms.

Furthermore, platform-mediated work remains only insufficiently understood. Tasks that are performed via platforms are not new in terms of the scale of tasks involved, the format of services being provided (whether the tasks are delivered locally or online), the level of skills required, the process by which a client is matched to a worker (offer of work versus competition) and the party that determines the allocation of work. However, platform work introduces new forms of subordination with the use of automated systems to match supply and demand for work that require further attention.

In terms of platform workers, new developments in assessing the impact on platform workers’ quality of life need to look at ways of viewing the wider processes and consequences of the platform economy from the perspective of disadvantaged groups by focusing on intersectionality in establishing a social dialogue and future policymaking (Webster and Zhang, 2022). The initial step needed is a recognition that platform work is directly linked to gender and ethnic inequalities in the labour markets. This is particularly important not only in developing policy options to ensure fair working conditions for workers regardless of their race, ethnicity, and gender, but also equal collective representation by recognising workers’ voices that come from different groups and backgrounds.

The factsheets look at (1) regulatory aspects, (2) recent legal developments, (3) characteristics of platform workers, (4) characteristics of popular platform companies, (5) the general perception of platform work and (6) collective actions and court cases.

Our analysis shows that while there are major differences across European countries, in terms of regulatory aspects, it is still uncertain how many active platforms are in a country, how many people are working on them and with what employment status they work. This type of information is particularly important in addressing the legal responsibility of platform companies, not only in terms of the quality of services provided, but also with a view toward fair working conditions for workers employed by these platforms.

This project sheds some lights on the complexity of platform ecosystem by providing visualisation of several regulatory aspects of platform work at the national level in over 30 countries. The methodology of this project is based on the data and evidence collected from the secondary sources available at the national level.

- Definition of online/digital (labour) platforms

- Existence of national register for platform companies

- Recognition of platform workers as employees

- Specific regulations for protection of platform workers

- Collective agreements either at sectoral, regional or company levels

- Court cases relating to the employment status.

Platform Work

Date, Place, Title

Subtitle

Date, Place, Title

Subtitle

14 June 2022, Brussels - Work ahead: Labour in the Platform Economy

08 June 2022, Online Event - Online Platforms, Platform Work & Platform Workers in Nordic Countries and Germany

co-hosted with FES Nordics

Policy Report: Online Platforms and Platform Work

by Inga Sabanova and Delia Badoi

Country Factsheets: Online Platforms and Platform Work

Mapping Platform Economy

Technology, Employment and Wellbeing