Abandon Hope All Ye Who (Press) Enter Here. Collective Rights of Platform Workers: An Illusion or Hope?

The purpose of this discussion chapter is to outline the problems faced by collective labour law in face of new forms of work organization such as digital platforms. One of the main differences between traditional form of business organization and internet platforms is widespread use of algorithmic management. Collecting data from workers creates imbalance in terms of access to information. Labour platforms are organized and managed in different ways. They also provide for different employment conditions. Therefore, in terms of organizing platform workers, their needs within the collective bargaining and their capability to organize collective action there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Moreover, not all platform workers will be equally interested in trade union participation. In order to increase platform workers’ participation trade unions should also consider taking advantage of the same technology employers are using like online tools and social media. One of the function trade unions could fulfil would be to build programs that would analyse the data and present them to workers in an easy-to-understand form through API (application programming interface). Use of algorithms would enable workers not only to organize according to their needs and interests but also to conduct collective bargaining using automated negotiation processes. Given the current developments in the labour markets traditional institutions of collective labour law such as the freedom of association, right to collective bargaining and the right to protest including strikes need to be successfully adapted to the needs of the changing world of work, and technology should be perceived as an ally in this process.