iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Finally, a country has actually transposed the EU Platform Work Directive. Well done Slovakia! We take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of 'The Act on Work Performed through Digital Labour Platforms' in this GEP briefing: thegigeconomyproject.substack.com/p/first-pwd-...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Platform Work Directive legislative process has dragged on 5 years: in most EU states it's now set to go on even longer, cos govts arent fussed about missing the legal deadline. Every day the status quo continues is another day of poverty wages. thegigeconomyproject.substack.com/p/why-govern...

thegigeconomyproject.substack.com

Why governments are not worried about missing the deadline for Platform Work Directive transposition

Newsletter + report from Platforum in Gdansk

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Important new study launched this week by @workerinfox.bsky.social and @etuc-ces.bsky.social on Uber's dynamic pay system in Europe. We have worked with drivers across 10 European countries to understand how this exploitative pay system works and what impact it has. Short 🧵about what we found.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Inspiring to see young people occupying the centre of Madrid en masse against rentierism, after a protest of 300,000 yday. Echoes of the indignados movement of 15 years ago. The housing crisis is the no 1 problem in Spain: these protests will resonate with the public. bsky.app/profile/apne...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"The far-right is not a project in favour of the working class, it's in favour of Uber" I discuss the upcoming French presidential elections with @leilachaibi.bsky.social, where there is a good chance far-right leader Le Pen will face off against the left's Mélenchon. What will it mean for workers?

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We will be joined by @leilachaibi.bsky.social for the first GEP Forum on Thursday! You can join the conversation with Leila on the future of the gig economy in France and Europe, as the deadline for transposing the EU Platform Work Directive looms. Join us here: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

open.substack.com

LIVE SOON: GEP Forum: Live with Leïla Chaibi MEP, Thursday Sept 24, 3pm CET

Starting Sep 24 at 9:00 AM EDT

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New York's crackdown on DoorDash's wage theft is an inspiring example of how to hold the platforms to account. Read the full story and lots more news in the latest newsletter (link below). #Gigeconomy #Fooddelivery #wagetheft #DoorDash #NYC

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Kieran Hurley @kieranhurley.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This fuckin rules

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

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Tim Newman @tnewmsblues.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

"Governments beyond NY should not wait for DoorDash to self-regulate. Labor inspectorates should now begin investigations, across the US & beyond, into the company. And we know platform wage theft does not stop at DoorDash" @benwray1989.bsky.social thegigeconomyproject.substack.com/p/what-mamda...

thegigeconomyproject.substack.com

What Mamdani’s DoorDash wage theft crackdown teaches us

[Reminder that we have the first GEP Forum tomorrow: you can join Leïla Chaibi MEP live at 3pm CET, Thursday 24 September on Substack to discuss the Platform Work Directive transposition, the gig econ...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New York's DoorDash wage theft crack down is seriously impressive. Not only have they used the platform's data against them, they've punished DoorDash with a serious penalty, while creating a new worker-led compliance system for real-time accountability.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

open.substack.com

LIVE SOON: GEP Forum: Live with Leïla Chaibi MEP, Thursday Sept 24, 3pm CET

Starting Sep 24 at 9:00 AM EDT

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It's clear that in major metropolises, like Berlin and New York, a socialist message can cut through. There's a question mark about whether those successes can translate outside big urban centres, but it's at least something to build from.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The Gig Economy Project has made the (inevitable) move to Substack. We have plans for live GEP forums & a wider range of content, but it needs to be funded! We're looking for 100 subscribers to step-up & donate €5 a month to make GEP sustainable ⬇️ thegigeconomyproject.substack.com/p/the-gig-ec...

thegigeconomyproject.substack.com

The Gig Economy Project has moved

Why we have moved to Substack and what changes you can expect

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Uber's massive GDPR fine for robo-firing drivers may open-up a pandora's box of compensation claims from workers who have been exploited by the company's algorithmic management system. #Uber #GigEconomy

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

If this is what Germany's becoming, no wonder the country is in a political crisis.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Crazy that these warnings come from the people who control the proprietary technology. They may as well be saying: 'Trust us, there is a fire that has started on our land; you don't get to see it or put it out, just be aware that it threatens all of us' bsky.app/profile/70sb...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Gig workers in the US are now the most likely group of workers to receive govt benefits. In 2020, it was McDonald's and Walmart workers. The govt is topping up the poverty pay of gig workers, even though the platforms pay very little in tax because of bogus self-employment.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Useful primer from Michael Roberts on the rise in bond yields around the world. Bond yields are rising primarily because of inflation, but as night follows day hysterical fiscal hawks will use rising bond yields as an excuse to cut public services. thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2026/09/04/b...

thenextrecession.wordpress.com

Bond bust

The financial media and mainstream economists are in a huge tizz. Government bond yields have risen sharply since the end of the pandemic slump to return to levels not seen since the glo…

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Reuben Binns @rdbinns.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A year on from releasing our audit of Uber's pricing and pay algorithms, our collaborators @workerinfox.bsky.social have filed this class action lawsuit in Amsterdam. Drivers across Europe may win €billions compensation for violations of their rights under GDPR: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

theguardian.com

Uber drivers launch European class action over ‘soulless’ and ‘scary’ AI algorithm

Landmark lawsuit claims tech company’s pay-setting system has breached privacy laws and pushed down earnings

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Climate adaptation is a major workers' rights issue. Food delivery couriers are on the frontline of that fight. Enforcement actions like this, which was sparked by a complaint by The CGT union, are crucial to holding rogue employers' feet to the fire, excuse the pun.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The violence against migrants in Ceuta is fascism plain & simple. Whether its in UK or Spain, there's a clear rise in fascist street movements attacking people in the name of race hate. We need to stand side-by-side with migrants, above all on the streets, against the fascists.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Amazon Mechanical Turk is shutting down. The first microwork platform (workers complete short digital tasks from home for tiny sums) has been usurped by rivals like Scale AI, that are more adapted to generative AI. The microwork industry that AMT spawned is now bigger than ever.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Palestinian journalist Shaimaa Eid is trying to raise money so her father can leave Gaza to get urgent cancer surgery. Donate here: chuffed.org/project/help...

chuffed.org

Help My Father Survive Cancer and Leave Gaza for Urgent Surgery

My name is Shaimaa Eid, and I am writing to you from Gaza, where survival has become a daily struggle.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Uber hit with second largest fine since GDPR was introduced (after Google). The important thing about this isn't the money though, it's that they are being fined for automated robo-firings of drivers, something that Uber continues to do on a daily basis. Could be a watershed moment.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made a revealing admission last week: he only pays his workers more when he faces competition. This is monopsony power, and as Uber monopolises the food delivery sector by buying its competitors, its ability to lower pay rates to extract greater profits will only grow.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

A German court acquitted a woman who had been convicted for comparing Israel's actions in Gaza to Nazi Germany. Judge found she has the right to criticise Israel's actions, was not supporting Nazism and was not trivialising the holocaust. First bit of sense to come out of Germany in years.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Renewed my residency today. I'm an immigrant, but not the sort that's subject to scapegoating and demonisation. Ceuta is exemplar of how the powerful manipulate the desperate for their own interests. We should aim our ire towards the elites, & show solidarity with the migrants. #Ceuta #Migration

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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 31/07/2026

New from me: Until recently, the gap between comfortably-off and just-getting-started could plausibly be crossed in a decade or two of hard work. Growth in asset prices means that’s no longer true: even a lifetime of striving doesn’t offer a realistic prospect of feeling you’ve “made it”.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Vitoria-Gasteiz has significantly reduced car use, expanded public transport and green space - good to have a liveable city when coping with heatwaves! #VitoriaGasteiz #Vitoria #greencity #publictransport #greenspace

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Climate breakdown doesn't affect everyone equally! The risks are higher for workers that have to pick their poison: risk their health or go unpaid. Just look at the riders in Bordeaux, continuing to work & inhale toxic fumes as wildfires rage nearby.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

The gig economy is not really new. Its the latest form of a long history of precarious service work under capitalism, where workers are paid via tips & piece-wages, based on temporary gigs. There's no going back to a 'standard' form of work that never existed for service jobs.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Review of @anniemcc.bsky.social's book 'Beneath the Wage', which places the gig economy in its proper context: a long history of service work exploitation, where secure contracts with hourly wages have been the exception rather than the norm. eomail5.com/web-version?...

eomail5.com

Review: Beneath the Wage

GEP Newsletter

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Bordeaux is choking in the smoke of surrounding wildfires, yet Uber and Deliveroo continue operations. These are the class divisions which climate breakdown exposes: food delivery couriers have to pick between exposing their lungs to wildfire smoke or going without pay.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

When the Uber Files scandal happened, Uber made a big song & dance about how the evidence of criminality & unethical behaviour was from the time when Travis Kalinick was CEO, and that they'd changed since he left. Now, Uber's become a major investor in Kalinick's new company.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Two big fires near Madrid are close to joining into one mega fire. In April, firefighters in the Community of Madrid warned that prevention work to stop fires from happening had been cut in half. Spain either takes climate adaptation seriously or the whole country will burn.

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

My review of @ceciliarikap.bsky.social's important new book on corporate power, 'The Rulers', to be published 4 August. "Who are the rulers of modern capitalism? Cecilia Rikap’s answer couldn’t be clearer or more precise: Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are the rulers." bsky.app/profile/jaco...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I visited Otxandio a few years ago. The first town to ever be carpet bombed. Sadly not the last. On 90th anniversary of that disastrous precedent, with wars raging in Europe & the Middle East, we should redouble our efforts against fascism & militarism. bsky.app/profile/ehbi...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Every summer now rural Spain is ablaze. This year seems particularly bad because the heatwaves are never ending and winter & spring were quite wet, so the grass has grown long. The Govt has to force big landowners to properly manage their land: prevention is the only way!

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Another EU tech firm swallowed up by Silicon Valley. I'll shed no tears for Delivery Hero, among the worst exploiters in the industry, but Uber is the biggest, most ruthless exploiter of them all: it will fight rights for riders with all its got, backed to the hilt by Washington. 🧵

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Setting up a pizza takeaway as an organising hub, registering it on Uber Eats & recruiting the riders who come for pick-ups is the sort of creative strategy that unions should be deploying in food delivery. They won't always work but worth the try. Latest newsletter: eomail5.com/web-version?...

eomail5.com

Swiss organising, French breaks, Malta agreements

GEP Newsletter

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Frank McDonald @frankmcdonald60.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Cautionary tale from Scotland about the perils of “affordable” housing …

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

A property developer in Edinburgh is hiking the rent on their 'affordable housing' stock by 24%. The rent will now be just shy of average prices in the city. As @living-rent.bsky.social rightly say that this "makes a mockery" of the whole affordable housing system. bsky.app/profile/bell...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

There's a lot of people trying to turn a blind eye to the reality, but ultimately this will be remembered as a tournament where Iran were treated as a second-class team and the US were given special favours. Sporting fairness died with world cup 2026. bsky.app/profile/wari...

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Ben Wray @benwray1989.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

We are truly in the post-liberal era - even red cards are not free from US interference! Next we'll have Trump in the stands putting his thumb up or down for a penalty, gladiator-style. bsky.app/profile/jaco...

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