Published: 08-06-2022 12:01 | Updated: 08-06-2022 12:01

New European project investigate the work environment of gig-workers

Gig workers
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IMM Unit of Occupational Medicine has been awarded a European grant to investigate the work environment of gig-workers (GIG-OSH). In total KI and it’s partners have been awarded 1,65 MEUR over three years.

New challenges for occupational safety and health in times of the digital transformation in Europe: the role of digital labour platforms

Platform work has the potential to be the most 'disruptive' labour market phenomenon of the past decades. Its share of the total labour market is still modest according to recent estimates, but platform-like work arrangements are steadily expanding. The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) implications of platform work have remained unexplored, although there are good reasons to assume that OSH policy and practice is also being disrupted within platform work. This disruption challenges the ambitions of the SDG8 of having decent work and the EU pillar of social rights: fair working conditions and equal opportunities as well as access to the labour market.

Against this background, the proposed project aims to investigate the OSH risks and regulations of platform work and provide recommendations to foster a safe and healthy occupational environment for platform workers in European countries based on the results of this study. Pursuing these aims, the project adopts a mixed-method study design organized into two work packages (WP) and involves platform workers living in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Theo Bodin and Nuria Matilla-Santander at the Unit of Occupational Medicine, IMM are principal investigators and coordinators of the consortium joined by researchers from University of Copenhagen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Warwick, Université libre de Bruxelles, University of Lodz, Tampere University and Pompeu Fabra University.

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Theo Bodin

Principal Researcher