ceps.eu (31.10.2017) The partnership between delivery platform Deliveroo and workers’ cooperative SMart has been terminated, sparking new debate over workers’ rights in the platform economy.

The collaborative economy (or “platform economy”), encompassing work-on-demand via apps like Uber and crowdwork like Amazon Mechanical Turk, has grown exponentially in recent years, thanks to the development of high-speed networks, the exploitation of big data and the availability of mobile devices, which have cut down transaction costs and allow for real-time effective matching of supply and demand.

Economic and technical changes are redrawing the map of the world of work: new jobs are appearing while others are becoming obsolete, and atypical work patterns are replacing full-time work and open-ended contracts. In addition, work is increasingly being carried out on online platforms connecting buyers and sellers, or by large project teams across borders and time zones.

European Parliament (Dec 2017)  This study investigates the social protection of workers in the platform economy at the request of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee. The report reviews literature and previous research on the platform economy with the aims of defining it and developing a typology for understanding its nature.

The New York Times (28.05.2018) After eight years of budget cutting, Britain is looking less like the rest of Europe and more like the United States, with a shrinking welfare state and spreading poverty.

The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper (26.06.2018) The Lagos State government will today launch the Vision Zero Conference, which is aimed at helping employees to develop attitudinal change and safeguard them at work. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will be signing the Occupational Health and Safety Policy Statement for the state to serve as a platform to protect people from unsafe acts and conditions.

EurActiv (25.06.2018) Derzeit tagen die EU-Sozialminister zu sozialen Rechten auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Dabei fällt bitter auf, dass gerade im Sozialstaat Deutschland die Karriere noch immer stark von der Herkunft abhängt. Woran liegt das, was kann man tun?

Bloomberg (25.06.2018) More than four years since Vladimir Putin’s popularity shot to record highs after his annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, support for the Russian president has fallen right back on an unpopular plan to raise the pension age. Confidence among Russians in Putin declined to 42 percent in mid-June from 45 percent a week earlier, the lowest level since December 2013, according to state-run polling company VTsIOM. It said Putin’s approval rating fell from 77 percent to 72 percent, the worst result since March 2014, the month he signed an order absorbing Crimea into Russia.

Informations sociales (juin 2018) Le dernier numéro de la revue de la caisse nationale des Allocations familiales (Cnaf), Informations sociales, coordonné par Frédéric Gonthier, enseignant-chercheur en science politique à l’IEP de Grenoble, est consacré aux valeurs de la protection sociale, avec trois parties consacrées à leur historique, leur place dans le débat citoyen, leur appropriation par le personnel des caisses de Sécurité sociale et enfin, les attentes des Français et Européens. 

Le Temps (juin 2018) L e nombre de chômeurs en fin de droits qui se retrouvent à l’aide sociale a doublé en une petite décennie. Notre dossier raconte cette épine dans le pied d'une Suisse prospère