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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Italy
In May 2020, the union Riders for rights (Rider xi diritti) was established by riders from various Italian cities. The main aim is to protect riders from income and health risks, as most riders are working for digital food delivery platforms without an employment contract and therefore cannot enjoy employment benefits, such as sick pay or holidays. According to the union, riders’ working conditions have become worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the demand for the sector multiplied while the pay per delivery has largely reduced. Meanwhile, riders are provided with inadequate or little sanitary devices which further exposes them to serious health risks.
On 26 March 2021, the union launched a national strike day throughout Italy, demanding the full rights and protections for all riders who are usually working in extreme precariousness. The campaign has involved various parties. Apart from the riders, the union is also seeking for the cooperation of citizens, consumers, restaurants that use delivery services, asking them not to place or take any orders on 26 March. Bologna City Council has approved an agenda that invites citizens to join the strike day. The campaign has also gained the support of NIdiL Cgil of Modena (More information of NIdiL Cgil can be found here).
Meanwhile, the riders reject the agreements signed by AssoDelivery and UGL which continues to consider riders as self-employed.
AssoDelivery is an employer organisation of the Italian food delivery industry which aims to ensure that platforms operating in the food delivery sector have a unified representative organisation. On 15 …
The Italian General Confederation of Labour (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro,CGIL) launched its New job identities (Nuove Identità di Lavoro, NIdiL) section in 1998 to ensure the representation and protection …
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.
