GDPower Conference Call for Papers

“Workers’ Data, Collective Bargaining, and the Platform Economy”

The GDPoweR (Recovering Workers’ Data to Negotiate and Monitor Collective Agreements in the Platform Economy) research project invites researchers, policymakers, trade unionists, and activists to submit papers for its upcoming final conference. The conference will present the project’s findings and explore how digital platforms collect and use worker data, and how this data can be leveraged for fairer collective bargaining agreements in the gig economy.

Keynote speaker: Becky Wright
Executive Director at Unions 21

Becky Wright is a leading expert on how trade unions adapt to the changing nature of work, particularly through innovative approaches to organising atypical workers. She brings extensive experience working with unions representing such sectors and will offer critical insights into union transformation, strategic adaptation, and inclusive organising practices that resonate across the platform economy.

Theme and scope

The GDPoweR project over two years explored the collection of worker data by digital labour platforms, how companies’ data collection practices affect workers, and how collective agreements to regulate pay, working conditions and the use of worker data in the platform economy are negotiated and implemented in Austria, Belgium, France, Poland and Spain.

The conference will focus on the role of workers’ data rights in shaping industrial relations, particularly in the location-based platform economy (e.g., food delivery, ride-hailing). It will examine how data access rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can be utilized to enhance transparency, empower workers, and support collective bargaining. The event will also address broader trends in platform work, such as algorithmic management, precarious employment, and the role of social partners in ensuring fair working conditions.

We welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Algorithmic management and collective bargaining: The impact of digital surveillance, automated decision-making, and algorithmic control on worker rights and collective action.
• Workers’ data as a tool for bargaining: How access to personal data (e.g., work logs, pay calculations) can be used to negotiate better working conditions and ensure compliance with agreements.
• Challenges in implementing collective agreements in the gig economy: Case studies of existing agreements, barriers to enforcement, and strategies for overcoming resistance from platforms.
• Trade union and activist strategies: The role of social partners, worker collectives, and grassroots movements in advocating for fairer conditions in digital labour markets.
• Comparative perspectives on industrial relations in platform work: Lessons from different EU countries on regulating platform companies and strengthening worker representation.
• GDPR and worker empowerment: The legal and practical implications of leveraging GDPR for industrial relations research and collective bargaining.

We welcome both quantitative and qualitative studies. We encourage submissions from researchers across disciplines and practitioners working on platform economy issues. We strongly encourage submissions from PhD students and early-career researchers.

Participation is free of charge; however, travel and accommodation expenses will need to be covered by each participant.

Submissions:

Please submit an extended abstract (approx. 400 words) along with:

• Paper title
• Name(s) of author(s)
• Affiliation(s)
• Contact email of the presenting author

to Zuzanna Kowalik (zuzanna.kowalik@ibs.org.pl) by 16 May, 2025. Abstracts should include the following sections: Methodology, data, major findings and keywords.

Key dates:

16 May, 2025: Abstract submission deadline
20 June, 2025: Notification of acceptance
11 July, 2025: Final registration deadline
11 September, 2025: Conference date

Scientific committee:

Piotr Lewandowski (IBS), Zuzanna Kowalik (IBS), Leonard Geyer (European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research), Dirk Gillis (HIVA – KU LEUVEN), Karolien Lenaerts (HIVA – KU Leuven) and Laurène Thil (HIVA – KU Leuven).

Project partners:

European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research (Austria), HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society, KU Leuven (Belgium), ACV-Innovatief (Belgium) ThEMA (Théorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications) – CY Cergy Paris (France), UCLM – Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha (Spain), Fundación 1 de Mayo (Spain), IBS – Institute for Structural Research (Poland)

Associated partners:

ÖGB – The Austrian Trade Union Federation (Austria), Adigital – Asociación Española de la Economía Digital (Spain), FO – Force Ouvrière (France), The Collective CoopCycle (France)