The first trade union organisation created specifically for platform workers in Romania was launched on 20 October 2025.
The National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) announced that the new organisation, the Digital Platform Workers’ Union (SLPD), will be constituted in every part of the country and will represent all platform workers, on-location and those working remotely.
The platform economy has been expanding rapidly in the eastern European country, with Uber and Bolt alone thought to have over 105,000 active ride hail drivers, with the number of intermediary firms operating between the platforms and the drivers doubling in just two years.
The new union will seek to represent workers hired directly by the platforms and those working via intermediaries, and will pursue collective bargaining and legislative initiatives, with the transposition of the EU Platform Work Directive, which has to be complete by December next year, in mind.
To accompany the launch, the BNS published a report titled ‘Work on digital platforms – a fiscal perspective’.
In April 2026, the union received its legal status to be able to provide formal worker representation. It is now starting an information campaign to reach more platform workers.
It already organises ridehail drivers and has found that drivers face major problems with different pay rates at different times of the day and de-activations and suspensions from platforms when their acceptance rates fall below a certain threshold.
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