Survey: platform work during the Covid19-crisis

The amount of people who have to work as freelance workers without an employment contract are growing rapidly. Getting a normal employment contract is becoming less and less common. These shaky and insecure ways of employment are a direct result of the previous financial crisis.

During this crisis, companies saw the opportunity to invent independent and flexible forms of work that resulted in less social security for its workers. Due to these constructions companies choose to make more profit at the expense of people's social rights. Not many parcel deliverers, Uber drivers or other platform workers choose to work under these circumstances. These digital platforms simply do not offer any other options. There is no freedom in that.

This flexibility in the labour market is most painfully visible in the platform economy. Major platforms pretend to be modern and futuristic by using apps and going fully digital. But at the same time, their workers seem to be stuck in the past and are entitled to social rights of nearly 200 years ago. If the safety of workers in this digital platform sector hadn't been already safeguarded properly, the Covid-19 crisis has made it become even more apparent.

It is high time to show that social rights of digital platform workers are more important than the race of digital platforms to become the biggest in the market.

That is why we would like to get in touch with you!

Do you recognise yourself in this situation? And do you work, for example, as a meal deliverer or Uber driver? Let us know by filling in the questions.

Thanks a lot!

Kim van Sparrentak
Member of European Parliament