Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 386 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in February 2024 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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The database currently contains 386 entries and was last updated in February 2024.
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Germany
The Deliver Union is a group of Foodora and Deliveroo bicycle couriers which started organising themselves in 2016 within the FAU Berlin (Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union, Free Workers’ Union). The Deliver Union aims to negotiate better working conditions for workers of the food delivery companies.
Deliver Union Campaign's demands include:
The Deliver Union organises meetings, strikes, signature campaigns and events in Berlin and keeps a Facebook page.
In August 2019, Deliveroo ceased its operation in Germany, while the Deliver Union, together with other unions and riders from other platforms, continues to protect delivery riders in Germany.
In August 2020, the union organised an interview with Lieferando drivers from the FAU Berlin operation group to learn about drivers’ main concerns and demands in the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the company’s responses.
In February 2021, the Lieferando operating group of FAU Berlin, together with riders from Wolt, has started a campaign which aims to address the issues related to severe weather conditions and the COVID-19 crisis. To achieve this, they have made several demands including:
On August 13, 2021, the Lieferando (in cooperation with the Gorillas Workers Collective) operating group organised a nation-wide protest demanding:
In response to the protest, Lieferando announced the termination of short-term contracts and offered unlimited contracts to their workers.
In September 2021 FAU won a case in court. The Deliver Union had been fighting the arbitrary termination of a worker of Cycle Logistics CL GmbH in March 2021. The employer did not explain the decision and even in court justified this decision only in vague terms indicating that the worker had ‘violated the contract’ and had ‘missed out on articulating the ways he would imagine a future collaboration’. Since the worker was actively engaged in setting up a works council within Cycle Logistics CL GmbH, he was organizing workers and the termination was declared shortly after the employers found out about the planned elections of the works council. The Deliver Union and the worker claimed this to be the reason for the termination of his contract. For these reasons, the Berlin Labour Court ruled that the termination was unlawful and suspended it.
Further reading:
The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising.
Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work?
The rapid rise of the platform economy has led to a marked transformation of European labour markets, and existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives have yet to catch up. While platform work offers opportunities for workers and employers and potentially contributes to innovation, economic growth and competitiveness in the EU, it has been criticised from the beginning because of the poor employment and working conditions often experienced by workers.
While 2020 may come to be seen as the year platform work gathered pace and started to go mainstream – thanks in large part to COVID-19 containment measures sparking an increase in food and grocery delivery – 2021 could be the year that regulation of platform work is set in motion.
