The convention was adopted “as a whole”, declared the president of the annual conference of the UN agency, Juan Castillo, before sealing the adoption with a hammer blow to the applause of the delegates.
“This convention aims to bring concrete improvements to the lives of millions of workers around the world. This is a major step forward, which marks the starting point for the development of public policies intended to protect platform workers,” declared the representative of Brazil, explaining that in her country “around 2 million workers will see their future prospects, their dignity and their autonomy strengthened thanks to this agreement.”
Divergent positions on implementation
Other countries, such as India, Bangladesh and the United States, believed that the convention should be applied flexibly, depending on national contexts. The representative of India notably indicated that his country called for preserving “the flexibility of member states to design and adapt policies according to their socio-economic context and their technological development.” “This is particularly important to support the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises and start-ups,” he said.
The United States recommends “the greatest caution when adopting restrictive regulations in rapidly changing sectors of the economy” and “this is particularly true for the platform economy, […] where rules that are too rigid hinder innovation and harm the workers they are supposed to help,” noted the United States representative.
The text calls on member states to take measures to guarantee fundamental rights at work to workers on digital platforms, including “freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor” and “the effective abolition of child labor”. Countries are also required to take measures to ensure health and safety at work, as well as protection from violence and harassment. The treaty requires access to social security and provides guarantees in terms of remuneration or payment, such as full and timely payment, respect for the minimum wage when it applies, coverage of certain costs and transparency of deductions.
A normative framework under surveillance
“This convention represents major progress,” reacted Jeroen Beirnaert, political director of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). He emphasizes, however, that the convention allows States “to provide for certain limited exclusions from its scope of application.” There is therefore “a risk that certain categories of workers are excluded”, but States which choose to apply such exclusions will have to justify them.
According to the World Bank, in 2023 there would be up to 435 million people working for this type of company in the world, escaping the usual social protections. The growth of these platforms in recent decades has opened new markets for businesses and created new employment and income opportunities, “providing flexibility for some workers and being characterized by low barriers to entry,” according to the ILO. But, on the other side of the coin, working conditions sometimes leave something to be desired, because they are largely regulated by service contracts, determined unilaterally by the platforms.
According to Lena Simet, senior researcher on poverty and inequality issues for Human Rights Watch, “Companies running digital platforms have built a business model that circumvents labor law protections and shifts risks and costs to workers.” By classifying digital platform workers as independent contractors, companies manage, in many countries, to evade obligations relating to minimum wages, workplace safety and social security, the NGO recently indicated in a report.
