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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Finland
Justice for Couriers is a campaign by couriers working for Foodora together with members of Vapaa Syndikaatti (‘free trade union’) and Vastavoima (an association of activists in defence of workers’ rights in Finland) with the aim to promote better working conditions for food delivery workers. It was launched in September 2018, after Foodora had unilaterally cut the pay of the couriers. Wolt couriers later joined the campaign as Wolt had also previously issued pay cuts.
The campaign prompted both companies to start negotiations with their couriers and issued the following demands to them: * Repeal of the pay cuts * Transparent shift allocation (critique of the algorithm that measures couriers’ performance in an opaque manner) * Break spaces for couriers and drivers including bathrooms and safe storage spaces for personal belongings * Compensations for the equipment used during work (car and bike maintenance, phone bills, fuel costs among others) * Access to insurances against illness and accidents * The possibility to enter an employment contract.
On 26 April 2019, representatives of Justice4Courier had their first preliminary discussion with representatives of Wolt. Wolt riders’ current situations, Justice4Courier’s demands and Wolt’s opinions on these issues were mainly discussed in the meeting.
On 5 February 2020, representatives of Justice4Couriers met for the second time with Wolt to discuss the working conditions of riders, with a particular focus on the possible improvement of the current freelancing model, such as provision of a more comprehensive insurance package and the possibility of providing an employment contract to drivers. They also discussed various practical issues such as shift and payment models that could be included in the employment contract. A ‘dual model’ was proposed in the discussion, which implies that Wolt would operate with a limited number of employees and a larger number of independent contractors.
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.
