Trade union leaders always have to express confidence and optimism that the workers can win, but listening to Ludovic Voet speak about the platform economy, it sounds genuine.

Voet became confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which represents 45 million trade unionists from 39 European countries, in 2019 at the age of just 33, previously having been a national youth leader of the Belgian CSC union.

He addressed two conferences on the gig economy in Brussels from 27-29 October which the Gig Economy Project was also in attendance at (see our reports here and here). Both times Voet expressed his belief that the legal battle for labour rights for gig workers had been won in Europe, and that the trade union movement was now making the weather when it comes to the European Commission’s much anticipated platform work directive in December, which - he said - has put digital labour platforms like Uber and Glovo on the back-foot.

Confidence is all well and good but at some point it has to be put to the test. Can the trade union movement really win in Brussels, where platform capitalism significantly outguns the trade unions in their ability to fund expensive lobbying efforts? And even if the ETUC’s demands for the platform work directive are met by the EU Commission, do the 92 ETUC-affiliated unions have it in them to do the hard yards of organising precarious, low-paid platform workers in Europe that would be necessary to transform their working conditions?

The Gig Economy Project met Voet in his ETUC office in Brussels to discuss all this and more:

01:11: Will the EU Commission’s platform work directive be a step forwards or backwards?

05:26: Spain’s Rider’s Law as a case study

09:21: Trade union demands for digital workers’ rights

12:24: Trade union organising and the platform economy

19:06: “Striketober” and the potential for trade union renewal