Publications
The social and labour impact of digital delivery platforms in Portugal
Put together by ISCTE Executive Education, the study “The social and labour impact of digital delivery platforms in Portugal” provides an independent and unbiased picture of couriers delivering through the main digital platforms operating in Portugal.
of respondents say they want to continue working as freelancers.
of the couriers carries out the respective activity as secondary/complementary
of respondents say they have improved living conditions with collaboration with digital platforms
of respondents highlights flexible schedules as the main reason for collaborating with the platforms
Divided into three categories of analysis (demographic characterization of couriers in Portugal, their employment and social situation, and their perceptions and expectations of labour regulations and benefits), the study was based on the experiences of couriers in Portugal. These answers echo other similar studies carried out at European level. They identify the flexibility provided by the various digital delivery applications as the main benefit, according to professionals who choose to provide their services through platforms.
Jointly promoted by APAD members (Bolt Food, Glovo and Uber Eats), the report produced by ISCTE Executive Education reveals that, in a stricter regulatory framework, couriers identify several potential negative effects. These include the loss or decrease of labour flexibility and the reduction of income, factors that are precisely what they value the most about operating through digital platforms.
Contribution of Digital Platforms within the scope of the Decent Work Agenda
Bolt Food, Glovo and Uber Eats, the three founding members of APAD, highlighted, in a joint contribution sent to the Assembly of the Republic as part of the public consultation on the draft law amending labor legislation, the limitations and negative impact that a rigid and conventional labor regulation, when applied to digital platforms, can have on the sector. The proposed law in question, ultimately, makes it impossible to work through these applications as an independent worker, jeopardizing the activity of thousands of professionals who chose to perform their functions through the platform and making it impossible for the digital economy to flourish and innovate in Portugal.
Large European survey shows that 70% of couriers prefer flexible work and would not switch to fixed hours
In the vast majority of European countries, including Portugal, couriers who provide their services through digital platforms are self-employed workers who work as and when they want, according to the findings of a broad pan-European survey. The study, promoted by the European association of digital delivery platforms, Delivery Platform Europe, and prepared by the renowned Copenhagen Economics institute, interviewed more than 16,000 couriers, operating in 24 countries. According to the international study, 70% of respondents prefer flexible work and say that they would not trade their work flexibility for fixed hours.
The study carried out by Copenhagen Economics also analyzes the impact of stricter labor regulation in the sector across Europe, predicting that up to 75,000 couriers may feel totally discouraged from continuing to collaborate with digital platforms. In this scenario, a loss of income of up to 800 million euros for these professionals is at stake.