The convention applies regardless of whether the worker is classified as an employee or self-employed. It will help secure basic rights in a sector which has been growing rapidly in recent years.
An estimated 150 to 500 million people currently work via apps and digital platforms. And that number is rising. In 2030, there might be 1 billion platform workers.
The convention has been prepared for two years. When the International Labour Organisation (ILO) finally finished, the result was called historic.
Ewa Staworzynska, the US employers’ representative who chaired the drafting process, highlighted how challenging the negotiations had been.
“Many doubted we would be able to reach an agreement. But when authorities, workers and employers work together, we can get results.
“Nobody got everything they wanted, but everybody got something they needed,” she is quoted as saying by the United Nations Association of Norway in an article published on its website.
The new convention sets out global minimum standards for platform work.
These include the right to organise and collective bargaining, a safe and healthy working environment, protection against dangerous work, the regulation of algorithms and automated decisions, and improved protection against the wrong classification of workers.
Not all the parties were equally pleased with the results and the final text. Even the Nordic countries highlighted certain issues.
Speaking on behalf of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, Sweden’s Johanna Ingschold stressed that different labour market models must be respected.
“It is important that the instrument does not undermine strong social partnerships and collective bargaining,” Ingschold said.
The countries must now ratify the convention and ensure that its provisions are actually implemented in practice.
