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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Ireland
The English Language Students’ Union (ELSU) is a group officially formed in May 2020 to campaign for the rights of language students in Ireland. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the English Language Education (ELE) school sector faced a crisis, which left international English language students in vulnerable situations as they could neither continue their education nor, in most cases, obtain refunds from their schools. The union branched into working with delivery riders working via platforms as many English language students work as deliverers for platform companies.
In this context, ELSU focuses on the problems faced by student workers in relation to temporary and part-time work permits. As students are limited to work only 20 hours per week and as non-European migrants, they are often coerced into subcontracted work (by renting a delivery account form an Irish or European citizen or Stamp Four visa holder). These situations are conducive to exploitative employment relationships. In response, ELSU demands that international students should be allowed to work 40h per week in order to receive a living wage and that Stamp Two visa holders should have the right to hold their own delivery accounts.
To increase representation and bargaining power, ELSU has been encouraging riders to join the trade union SIPTU. However, the problem remains that union representation is only possible for EU citizens, which makes collective organising difficult.
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.
