Many food couriers and ride-hailing drivers in Estonia work exhausting hours that put their health and road safety at risk, but the government has no plans to intervene.
A recent study by the Foresight Center and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) found that a quarter of food couriers and ride-hailing drivers work more than 50 hours a week, well above Estonia's standard 40-hour workweek.
"The study also found that many couriers and drivers were working more than 100 hours a week," said Olavi Miller, an expert at the Foresight Center.
Such workloads can harm workers' health and raise concerns about road safety. But while the MKM doesn't condone excessive workloads, Hedi Arukase, the ministry's deputy secretary general for labor and equality, says platform workers are independent contractors, not traditional employees, and thus are free to set their own hours.
"Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about it," she said.
Money is a major reason workers put in such long hours. About 90 percent earn additional income elsewhere, while platform work is the sole source of income for roughly 2,000 people. Two-thirds earn less than €1,200 a month.
Social protections are another concern. Not all platform workers contribute to pensions, and most rely on other jobs or educational institutions to qualify for Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF) coverage. Fourteen percent have no health insurance at all.
Ex-minister: They chose this job
MP Signe Riisalo (Reform), chair of the Riigikogu's Social Affairs Committee and former minister of social protection, said platform workers are all independent, capable adults who have chosen this form of employment, but did also acknowledge a broader problem.
"Is this a broader problem for society? Yes, it is," Riisalo said. "And do we need to look for solutions? Yes, we do."
One option would be for platform workers to unionize, she said, "because social protections can be provided by an employer, which in their case is the platform."
A new EU directive aims to make platform work more transparent, and legislation to implement it in Estonia is currently pending in the Riigikogu. Arukase said the bill should help workers better understand their employment conditions and figure out how to earn more in less time.
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