Platform work in the Nordic models: Issues, cases and responses

Regulating Flexibility: Uber’s Platform as a Technological Work Arrangement

“…The new regulations were passed by parliament on 4 June 2019 and will be implemented on 1 November 2020. Similar taxi market deregulations have been initiated in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden as well (Oppegaard et al 2020).…”

“…Urban Norwegian labor markets, such as Oslo's, are characterized by relatively few jobs for people with few formal qualifications and a lack of language skills, with taxi driving as one of few employment opportunities for newly arrived immigrants (Brox 2016). The Norwegian taxi market is regulated through means testing and numeric restriction on taxi licenses, a maximum price and qualification requirements for obtaining taxi licenses (for taxi owners) and professional licenses (for drivers) [Aarhaug 2014; see Oppegaard et al (2020) for an analysis of the changes in the taxi market regulation in the Nordic countries after the arrival of Uber]. It is an industry that represents an exception to the Nordic models' well-regulated working conditions: The unionization rate in the industry is low and taxi drivers are commission-paid and employed by the license holder, with whom they often have personal or familial relations.…”

“…As a regulatory infrastructure determines the choices available for the drivers ( Zysman & Kenney 2018), Uber's platform can be seen as functioning as a technology for regulating their formal flexibility and organizing their labor process. While the formal work arrangement of Uber drivers vary between countries (Oppegaard et al 2020), the platform used for organizing the drivers' labor is relatively similar. As a technological work arrangement, the platform comprises of three techniques: Dynamic pricing, bilateral ratings, and algorithmic trip assignment (Lee et al 2015).…”

Co-creation in Macrotask Knowledge Work on Online Labor Platforms

“…Examples include food delivery, household help, data entry, lead generation, and basic website curation. Most studies of platform work, particularly in Nordic countries, focus on low-skilled work (Jesnes 2020).…”

Gig- og plattformøkonomien i den norske arbeidslivsmodellen – forutsetninger og konsekvenser. En casestudie av Uber Black i Oslo

“…Andre nordiske studier finner også at gig-og plattformøkonomien er av begrenset utstrekning. I Danmark hadde én prosent av befolkningen inntekt fra en arbeidsplattform i 2016, mens 2,5 prosent av svensker jobbet via en plattform i 2017 (Jesnes & Oppegaard 2020). 11 Bransjene der gig-og plattformarbeid har fått fotfeste kjennetegnes av lave formelle kompetansekrav, høy grad av midlertidighet eller selvansettelse, lav organisasjonsgrad og tariffavtaledekning og/eller svakt regulerte lønns-og arbeidsvilkår, slik som drosjemarkedet (Uber), renhold (Weclean og Vaskehjelp.no), varebilmarkedet (Nimber og Porterbuddy) og bud-matlevering (Foodora og Wolt), i tillegg til kreativ tjenesteyting som tekstbehandling og grafisk design (Upwork og Freelancer).…”