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.
Search
The database currently contains 386 entries and was last updated in February 2024.
Tag
Active
France
Les Cyclopes is a platform cooperative that was established in 2020 by the neighbourhood committees of Saint-Denis and Stains in the Parisian suburbs. It emerged as a response to the precariousness of the cyclo-logistics professions and the environmental challenges involved in transport. The objective is to offer customers an efficient bike delivery service while reducing carbon emissions and supporting the creation of fair jobs with adequate training.
The neighbourhood committees aim to improve the living environment in Stains and Saint-Denis. They focus on the beautification and maintenance of the physical district, citizen participation, the creation of collective space, economic development and the socio-economic integration and cohesion among residents. They thus work towards developing jobs based on identified needs.
Working and participating in the Cyclopes cooperative provides residents with the opportunity to work as couriers, have access to supervised, qualifying and certified training (among others for French language courses, rhetoric workshops, obtaining a driving license etc.) while benefiting from the status of employees. The cyclo-logistics sector furthermore contributes to the ecological transition. The cooperative’s gains are distributed as follows: 23% for support and training, 52% for the couriers’ wages, 20% for the association, and 5% for equipment.
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.
