Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 389 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in June 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 389 entries and was last updated in June 2024.
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Austria
In 2019, Lieferando workers established a works council. In response, Lieferando filed a lawsuit against its establishment, arguing that the company only operates via the platform without being a resident in Austria. Despite the legal dispute, the works council successfully established regular meetings and obtained liability insurance for all 300 workers as well as better backpacks, tires and brakes for the bikes.
Previously, workers of Mjam, another food delivery provider, had succeeded to form a works council as well. The third courier service creating a works council was Veloce. The Veloce council was established after ongoing disputes between couriers and the management. Since 2004, Veloce had successfully prevented the establishment of a works council by dismissing couriers, who made an effort to organise their colleagues. However, due to worsening working conditions during the Covid-19-pandemic, the dispute was stirred once again: The workers demanded the provision of Covid-19-tests for themselves since they had to pick up tests from peoples’ doors as part of Veloce’s service. Further demands concerned the provision of decent wages and the fact that workers are not employed by the company but work on a freelance basis. The latter issue relates to the fact that the collective agreement for bicycle couriers does not apply to the workers and that as freelancers they are not supported by the trade union federation and therefore remained without earnings for the duration of strikes, which limited their capacity to effectively protest for better working conditions. In 2020, the works council could finally be established since this time the company took back the dismissals of workers aiming to establish the works council since the couriers aimed to fight it in court.
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.
