80 participants from 10 countries gathered in Istanbul on 8 October to tackle urgent challenges facing logistics workers and call for stronger regulation
The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) concluded its EU co-funded “Delivering Fair Transport for All” logistics project with a powerful workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, as part of its Logistics Action Days campaign. The event brought together 80 trade unionists, workers’ representatives, and academic experts from across 10 countries to address the mounting pressures facing the logistics sector.
Hosted by Turkish affiliate TÜMTIS on October 8, the day-long event examined the structural problems plaguing modern logistics, from abusive subcontracting practices to the human cost of rapid digitalisation, and charted a path forward through collective action and stronger regulation.
Three Studies Unveil the Crisis
The workshop presented three major research findings that paint a troubling picture of the logistics industry.
Daniel Blackburn presented the final report on multinational corporations and the parcel delivery sector. The research identified six distinct business models in Europe’s last-mile delivery and mapped major investors driving the sector’s growth. The report outlines 13 urgent recommendations for governments, trade unions and employers, including tackling subcontracting by strengthening the regulatory framework, improving employment transparency, enhancing migrant workers’ access to rights, and including labour rights in due diligence measures.
Annelies Scheers and Patrizia Zanoni from the University of Hasselt presented their “Humans in Digital Logistics” study, based on three years of research across four European logistics hubs. The findings revealed that digitalisation has reduced worker autonomy, intensified work pace, and increased algorithmic surveillance, with workers feeling treated like robots. The study proposes six policy principles for human-centred warehousing, including meaningful worker involvement in technology decisions, regulated data use, comprehensive health assessments, and investment in genuine training and career development.
Professor Antonio Loffredo from the University of Siena presented ETF-ETUI’s study “Sorry, we subcontracted you”, covering France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The research exposed how subcontracting separates power and profit from risks and responsibilities, with opaque chains making enforcement nearly impossible. Loffredo outlined nine recommendations, including establishing joint liability, enhancing transparency, guaranteeing equal treatment, supporting union activities throughout supply chains, and limiting subcontracting and the length of supply chains.
Fighting Back on the Ground
TÜMTIS branch leaders and shop stewards shared their experiences of organising and fighting for workers’ rights in Turkey’s logistics sector. Their interventions demonstrated that despite enormous challenges, collective action and union solidarity can make a difference for workers trapped in precarious employment.
Workshop participants identified critical areas demanding urgent action. Market dynamics and subcontracting chains are creating a race to the bottom, with workers bearing the cost of dysfunctional competition. The current market structure incentivises cost-cutting through worker abuse rather than genuine efficiency or innovation.
Workplace challenges are multiplying as digitalisation introduces new occupational safety and health risks while simultaneously affecting workers’ mental well-being. The technology designed to increase productivity often comes at the expense of human dignity and health. Collective bargaining must be strengthened as the primary tool for protecting workers and establishing fair standards across the sector. Union growth is essential to rebalancing power between employers and workers.
Multinational corporations must be held accountable, requiring continued and enhanced joint action by unions across borders to match the global reach of these employers.
The Way Forward: Three Pillars for Change
Participants agreed that transforming the logistics sector requires action on multiple fronts. Better legal frameworks are essential, particularly to regulate subcontracting practices and establish clear rules for artificial intelligence and algorithmic management in the workplace. An enhanced role for collective bargaining must be recognised and supported, giving workers and their unions real power to shape working conditions and push back against abusive practices.
Challenging the sector’s operating model is fundamental. The current system is unsustainable. Re-establishing a level playing field and rebalancing power between capital and labour are not optional extras but prerequisites for a functioning logistics sector that serves workers, companies, and society.
The ETF workshop demonstrated the power of bringing together workers, union representatives, academic experts, and researchers for mutual learning and collective reflection. This collaborative approach is essential for developing strategies that can genuinely transform how the logistics sector operates.
The Istanbul workshop marks not an ending, but a new beginning for ETF’s logistics campaign. Armed with solid research, strengthened international solidarity, and clear demands, transport workers are ready to fight for the fair logistics sector they and society deserve.
