Workers Without Workplaces and Unions Without Unity: Non-Standard Forms of Employment, Platform Work and Collective Bargaining

in Pulignano V. & Hendrickx F. (Eds.), Employment Relations for the 21st Century, Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, Vol. 107.

23 Pages Posted: 14 May 2019 Last revised: 1 Oct 2022

See all articles by Antonio Aloisi

Antonio Aloisi

IE University Law School

Elena Gramano

Bocconi Legal Department; Bocconi University School of Law

Date Written: March 21, 2019

Abstract

Non-standard forms of employment (NSFE) are on the rise in different sectors and various countries all over the world. Concomitantly, technological and organizational change represents a major challenge for collective bargaining systems, given that they are often still predicated on the concept of a standard employment relationship. Meanwhile, some innovative and spontaneous solutions are emerging. In order for collective bargaining, unions, and business associations to continue to be impactful in the “new world of work”, it may be necessary to adapt the way they currently operate. There may also be a need to adjust or update the relevant legal frameworks.

This article investigates challenges to freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining for non-standard workers, from a legal and practical perspective. In particular, the article examines the relevant legal framework with a critical approach and stresses the relevance of legal hurdles that non-standard workers face.

After presenting the legal determinants of NSFE, the paper provides an analysis of existing legal frameworks regulating the organization of non-standard forms of work and the negotiation of terms and conditions of work at the supranational level, with a particular focus on the implications related to competition law and its rigid limits in the European Union system. Finally, it sketches a mapping of nascent initiatives of workers’ organization, by distinguishing classic resources of unionization from other tools (e.g. social media groups, strategic litigation, rating widgets) in a selection of European Union countries.

Keywords: Non-standard forms of employment, collective bargaining, gig-economy, platform work, voice, strike

JEL Classification: J51, J52, J53, K31

Suggested Citation

Aloisi, Antonio and Gramano, Elena, Workers Without Workplaces and Unions Without Unity: Non-Standard Forms of Employment, Platform Work and Collective Bargaining (March 21, 2019). in Pulignano V. & Hendrickx F. (Eds.), Employment Relations for the 21st Century, Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, Vol. 107., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3363185

Elena Gramano

Bocconi Legal Department ( email )

Via Roentgen, 1
Milan, Milano 20136
Italy

Bocconi University School of Law ( email )

Italy

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