The food couriers’ fight is about the same question as the cleaning industry: whether the person doing the work is self-employed or an employee — and who carries the risk when something goes wrong. Few industries have shown the dilemmas of the platform economy as clearly, and the lessons point straight at what is coming for the rest.
The story is worth knowing — even if you never order takeaway. Because it is about what kind of platform economy we are building.
Two models, two fates
The Danish food delivery market became a natural experiment. Just Eat chose to employ its couriers and sign a collective agreement — and ultimately had to leave the Danish market. At its exit, the union 3F Transport pointed out precisely that Just Eat had taken on its responsibility as an employer, while its competitors carried on with self-employed couriers without the same rights.
The Wolt couriers, by contrast, have repeatedly protested over falling earnings and conditions they have no say in. When couriers are self-employed, they stand without the safety net of a collective agreement — and without any real bargaining power against the app's algorithms.
When platforms compete on price alone
Food delivery's dilemma is simple: when customers choose by lowest delivery price, the platform that pushes costs down the furthest wins. And the biggest cost is always labour.
The result is a race to the bottom, where the responsible model loses to the cheap one — unless customers actively choose otherwise, or legislation sets a floor. That is exactly the mechanism the EU Platform Work Directive is trying to stop.
Cleaning could have gone the same way
Private home cleaning has all the ingredients for the same race: low unionisation, many foreign workers, a large undeclared market and customers who compare hourly rates. When Hilfr started in 2017, the platform did indeed look like the others: the cleaners were freelancers.
But in 2018, Hilfr chose a different path and became the first platform in Denmark to sign a collective agreement with 3F. Today, everyone working on the platform is employed with pension, holiday pay and guaranteed wages. We still compete — but on quality, security and transparency rather than on squeezing pay.
Your order is a ballot
The food couriers' struggle shows that the direction of the platform economy is not preordained — it is decided by legislation, the trade union movement and, ultimately, by customers' choices. Every booking is a small vote on which model should win.
So whether it is food at your door or clean floors: ask who is doing the work, and what conditions they have. It takes ten seconds — and it makes all the difference.
Still have questions? Find answers on our FAQ page — or see whether Hilfr covers your area.
