Not So Easy, Riders: The Struggle For The Collective Protection of Gig-Economy Workers

Abstract

The contribution aims at critically analyze the Labour Tribunal of Florence decision, which in February 2021 stated that Art. 28 of the Italian Workers’ Statute could be actioned only in relation to anti-trade unions practices arising from employment relationships and identifying the employer as the counterpart, exempting a similar protection to gig-economy riders and their trade unions. On the one hand, in fact, the ruling moves along the increasingly numerous disputes on the qualification of the work relationship of platform workers, and on the other hand it offers the chance to assess the legal relevance of the collective interests of platform workers, and more in general of those who fall outside of the employment relationship’s scope.