GDPoweR – Recovering workers’ data to negotiate and monitor collective agreements in the platform economy

The GDPoweR project aims to bolster industrial relations in the platform economy by analysing strategies used by platform workers, activists, trade unionists, and employer groups in negotiating pay and conditions. It introduces an innovative data collection method based on citizen science to audit personal data practices of platforms. The project evaluates challenges in implementing collective bargaining agreements in the location-based platform economy. Additionally, it enhances industrial relations and social partnerships by raising awareness about companies’ data collection practices and empowering workers to reclaim their data. The project contributes to policy-making and research by disseminating findings and research methods.

GDPoweR is a collaborative research project on industrial relations in the platform economy involving seven research and social partner organizations from five EU countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Poland, Spain). It centers on two sectors, ride-hailing and food delivery and explores three areas:

• The collection and use of worker data by digital labour platforms and its impact on worker well-being and their inclination to engage in collective actions.
• Strategies employed by social partners to negotiate and implement collective and company-level agreements in the platform economy. These agreements cover aspects like pay, working conditions, and the collection and use of worker data.
• The implementation, monitoring and enforcement of negotiated agreements.

GDPoweR builds on a methodology developed and pioneered by Hestia.Ai in which worker data is recovered by workers through GDPR requests and subsequently donated to researchers for joint analysis and interpretation.

To implement this method, we will organise data recovery workshops in each participating country informing workers how to recover their data, sense-making workshops in which researchers jointly with workers try to understand the recovered data and focus groups to discuss with workers how they feel about collecting their data. Where applicable, the data recovered by workers will also be used to monitor compliance with negotiated agreements.

Information on strategies to negotiate and enforce agreements will be collected through desk research and focus groups with activists and social partner representatives. The exchange of experiences and expertise between activists and social partner representatives will be supported through a one-day transnational mutual learning event.

The project deliverables encompass a transnational mutual learning event, five country reports, one comparative report, two academic manuscripts, and a final conference.

The Project’s website