Platform work in Nordic countries
The number of home deliveries and work facilitated via different apps has increased exponentially in recent years, and the global coronavirus pandemic has only further accelerated this trend. A growing number of people now have their work assignments coordinated via apps. These platform workers have no fixed workplace and often work alone on short-term employment arrangements. In addition, many platform companies do not consider themselves to be employers and force takeaway couriers, for example, to work as self-employed workers. Including platform workers in the Nordic model, where collective bargaining agreements play a key role in regulating working conditions, is a challenge.
We wanted to investigate the prevailing legal situation in the Nordic region to better understand platform work and the challenges it poses. We also wanted to gather information on and learn more about the different strategies our member organisations employ with respect to platform work.
- Who is the employer and who is the worker at platform companies who facilitate traditional work in the transport sector?
- What are the biggest challenges in terms of organising platform workers?
- What approaches have been successful in organising platform workers in the Nordic region?
How to make platform work a part of the Nordic model
The global covid-19 pandemic escalated the number of platform workers as the number of home-deliveries skyrocketed during the lockdowns. Nordic transport workers’ unions have worked actively with the phenomenon and some groundbreaking successes have been achieved. The first collective agreements for food deliveries were signed in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in 2019 and 2020.
The Nordic Transport Workers’ Federation NTF invited union leaders, officials and active members to a conference in Stockholm.
The conference was divided in two, and the first part could be followed on Facebook Live (https://fb.watch/9nk33oU0S7/)
We hope the conference gave a spark to new discussions and ideas on how we can best work together across the Nordic countries.
Participating:
Anders Teglund, author of Cykelbudet that depicts the life as a rider for Foodora
Olli Koski, senior manager, public policy, Wolt
Cecilia Westerlund, researcher, Nordic Transport Workers’ Federation NTF
Tommy Wreeth, president, Transportarbetareförbundet
Host:
Lisa Pelling, Arena Idé
