Dismantling the Fissured Workplace: A Long Process to Crack the Code

As the ILC convenes to debate the global platform economy, a critical frontline has stalled in Israel, where landmark legal battles that could redefine the rights of thousands of platform workers sit stagnant in the Labour Courts. While app-based corporations rewrite the rules of employment in real time, the Histadrut continues to fight for worker protections. In this regulatory vacuum, the historic safety net achieved by the labour movement is quietly eroding.

Defending delivery worker solidarity

One of the major court cases involves food delivery giant Wolt. Platforms like Wolt systematically label couriers as “independent contractors,” a convenient fiction that strips workers of core social protections, minimum wage guarantees, and workplace safety nets. During the hearings, the company argued that the diverse working habits of its thousands of couriers prevent them from forming a homogenous class eligible for a class-action lawsuit. This strategy deliberately ignores the uniform reality under which they all operate. The defence of worker solidarity requires courts to see past these procedural distractions.

The Histadrut remains actively engaged in ensuring that structural exploitation cannot hide behind modern app interfaces. This is a battle for the integrity of the labour market. If platforms are permitted to bypass collective bargaining, the hard-won standards of organised labour will face rapid erosion across all sectors.

Multi-layered employment

This assault on organised labour is not confined to mobile applications; it heavily permeates traditional industries through the dangerous expansion of “fissured employment.” The second court case is the battle for the unionisation of 8,500 workers at the retail giant Super-Pharm. Operating under a multi-layered “associate model,” Super-Pharm claims each branch is a separate corporate entity run by an independent franchisee, arguing it has no duty to negotiate a collective agreement.

We have petitioned the High Court of Justice to overturn the lower court’s acceptance of this model. While Super-Pharm hides behind legal technicalities, the parent company maintains total economic control, dictating strict branch budgets and employment contracts down to the smallest detail.

A path forward for protections on the ground

In the face of these structural hurdles and regulatory delays, the Histadrut is taking a proactive approach to ensure that gig workers, freelancers, and independent contractors receive the comprehensive protections they deserve.

Through our Independent Workers’ Forum, the Histadrut has established a dedicated home and a solid public safety net for those left exposed. Taxi drivers, delivery couriers, and freelancers across all sectors can now access essential union benefits, legal support against exploitation, and specialised services by joining this forum.

The Histadrut stands firmly against the Platform race to the bottom, aligning our vision with our international peers who demand that algorithmic management and corporate franchising be matched by robust legal accountability. We remain unyieldingly committed to reversing this toxic trend domestically. We will continue to challenge self-employment models and fissured structures in the courts, on the streets, and through legislative advocacy, ensuring that no worker is left exposed to exploitation under the false promise of flexibility.