Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 281 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in December 2022 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 281 entries and was last updated in December 2022.
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Germany
The Gorillas Workers Collective was established by a group of food delivery workers employed by Gorillas, an app-based grocery delivery start-up founded in 2020 in Berlin. The company operates in 21 German cities and has recently expanded to Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Issues raised by the collective:
The collective organised protests and strikes as of July 2021 after one worker’s contract was terminated without further notice. In response, the Workers Collective organized a strike and temporarily stopped the warehouses’ operations by blocking their doors.
On August 13, 2021, the Gorillas Workers Collective (in cooperation with FAU’s Lieferando operating group) organised a nation-wide protest demanding:
Furthermore, the collective contests the company’s practice of constantly firing workers after their one-year contracts end. This issue was taken to court in September 2021, with the collective accusing the company of “cold firing” employees. The practice of suddenly firing employees without any apparent reason not only has negative implications for the workers, who in many cases depend on employment for their residence permits, but also effectively complicates the collective’s efforts to mobilize and create a permanent body of workers’ representatives equipped with the necessary skills to defend the workers’ rights and inform new members. As of September 2021, no agreement with the management of the company has been reached.
Gorillas Workers Collective on Twitter
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.
