The Platform Economy and Industrial Relations. Applying the old framework to the new reality. CEPS Research Report No. 2017/12, August 2017

Kilhoffer, Zachary and Lenaerts, Karolien and Beblavý , Miroslav (2017) The Platform Economy and Industrial Relations. Applying the old framework to the new reality. CEPS Research Report No. 2017/12, August 2017. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the platform economy, industrial relations and social dialogue, as portrayed in the literature. It provides strong evidence that workers in the platform economy are organising into new employee associations (unions) and are also being brought into existing employees associations. None of the evidence surveyed indicates that platforms are organising into employer associations or being incorporated into existing employer associations. Anecdotal evidence suggests that actors in the platform economy are engaging in tripartite dialogue. The authors conclude that i) no overarching framework exists for governing or facilitating social dialogue between the parties involved in the platform economy, and ii) even if the existing framework is applied to parties in the platform economy, it offers a poor fit due to differences between platform workers and employees, and platforms and employers.

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