LAST week, the International Labor Organization approved a landmark agreement that lays down safeguards for gig workers on digital platforms.
Adopted at ILO’s annual conference in Geneva, the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention requires countries to ensure that gig workers get fair pay and social security protections “on terms no less favorable than those applicable to other workers with the same classification of status in employment.”
The convention acknowledges the growing stature of gig workers as a labor force and their impact on global digitalization.
Gig workers are individuals hired by companies on a project or short-term basis. They are self-employed and are paid fixed rates.
Because they work freelance, gig workers are more flexible in choosing their projects and managing their workload, a luxury that is denied to salaried employees. The downside is that they do not enjoy the usual employee benefits like health care and social pension.
The gig economy emerged as a mainstream market sector during the internet wave of the 2000s, when consumer-focused online platforms became increasingly popular.
The explosion of smartphone-enabled services like Uber and Airbnb further fueled the growth of the gig economy. But the Covid-19 pandemic proved to be the game changer; freelance delivery and logistics apps were the lifeline for millions of locked-down consumers.
Today, the global online gig workforce is estimated to be between 154 million and 435 million. Over $136 billion is paid out to them annually.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority and Department of Information and Communications Technology showed that 1.5 million Filipinos sell services on digital platforms like OnlineJobs.ph.
If we add the number of app-based delivery riders, transport and freelance creative personnel, the total comes up to 9.9 million Filipino gig workers. That’s an astonishing 22 percent of the country’s employed labor force.
The Philippines’ gig economy already encompasses major sectors like retail, agriculture and construction. Before the expansion, online freelancers already dominated fields like graphic design, writing and virtual assistance.
As their numbers grow, gig workers become increasingly vulnerable to the risks that salaried employees face. Freelancing may seem to many like a dream job, but the lack of clear contracts and legal protections paves the way for risky exploitation, as labor laws struggle to keep pace with the dramatic shifts in the way people work.
Based on World Bank estimates, as many as 435 million online gig workers around the globe do not enjoy regular labor protections in 2023.
In dealing with gig workers, companies often turn to algorithms that assign tasks, set pay scales, evaluate performance and even fire workers.
In many cases, gig workers are still classified as independent contractors who are not covered by minimum wage statutes, and workplace safety and social security considerations.
The Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention is designed to change all that. “The ILO now has the first convention that focuses on the impact of digitalization in the world of work,” said the agency’s chief, Gilbert Houngbo.
In the text adopted by ILO members, the convention covers “all digital labor platforms” and “all digital platform workers ... whether they are in the formal or informal economy.”
The United States’ representative to ILO, Lorenzo Riboni, urged “extreme caution with respect to prescriptive binding regulations in fast-evolving areas of the economy.”
Independent contractors control their own work and “lean into an entrepreneurial spirit that makes America great,” Riboni said.
The International Trade Union Confederation downplays Riboni’s concern and exudes confidence that the convention would help ensure that millions of platform workers can enjoy the rights, protections and dignity that all workers deserve.
“This convention represents a major step forward,” ITUC’s political director Jeroen Beirnaert said.
Beirnaert conceded that the agreement gives countries the leeway “to provide for certain limited exclusions from its scope.” But he warned that those countries must satisfactorily justify such exclusions.
The convention, however, is steadfast in calling on countries to ensure that gig workers are guaranteed fair pay and access to social security protections. In doing so, it enshrines the basic principle that workers should not have to choose between access to work and access to rights.
