Launching Gigpedia: the global database on platform work

The boom of the platform economy has drastically changed the organisation of labour markets globally. The impact of platforms on the labour market and conditions for the worker is the result of choices made by policymakers, platforms and other institutions. To help make sense of these ongoing developments and facilitate stakeholders with the right information and data, the WageIndicator Foundation, the Fairwork project and the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest, have launched Gigpedia: a central hub with all available information on the gig economy worldwide.

Platforms have reorganized existing markets like domestic work, centralized fragmented markets like delivery services and taxi services, and created new markets where workers perform remote work from anywhere in the world.

Although predictions differ on the scale and impact of online platforms on how work is organized, everyone is convinced that platforms will play an increasing role in all sectors of the labour market.

Good information as a basis for good policy

Martijn Arets, member of the gig team of WageIndicator: “To get a good picture of the market, the opportunities and challenges, the right information and data are crucial. The impact of platforms is different in every country and highly dependent on local market conditions and institutions, where it is always important to look at how platform work relates to the local market and conditions. After all, there is no such thing as a ‘planet gig’. Only on the basis of the right information can the right choices be made.”

Gigpedia

Gigpedia is an initiative of the WageIndicator Foundation and the Fairwork project and supported by the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest. It provides an ongoing and up to date overview of available information about the global platform economy. You will find information about existing legislation, court cases and labour standards ratings for specific platforms. The data on Gigpedia is collected by leading research organizations in the field, including WageIndicator, Fairwork and University of Leeds. You will find: platform labour ratings, platform work case studies, a repository of court cases and gig economy news.

Fiona Dragstra, director of the WageIndicator Foundation: “At WageIndicator, we have been researching developments in the global labour market for over 23 years. We believe, and have learned from experience, that access to clear, transparent and accessible information is crucial for (gig) workers, policy makers and social partners in order to make better informed decisions. With this in mind, it was a logical step to create this page, which has the ambition to become the ‘global information hub for platform work’. We think it’s a good sign and quite cool, that with the launch of Gigpedia.org we are already able to group the knowledge of three leading organisations on the global gig economy, and hope more will follow.”

Alessio Bertolini, Postdoctoral Researcher for Fairwork at the Oxford Internet Institute: “Through a global network of researchers, Fairwork rates the working conditions of platforms across 38 countries. Our ratings provide much needed transparency on platform practices and policies around the world and allows policymakers, consumers and the wider public to make informed decisions. With this in mind, we are excited to join WageIndicator in the creation of Gigpedia.”

Simon Joyce, Research Fellow at the Digital Futures of Work (Digit) Research Centre, at Leeds University Business School: “As platform-mediated work has spread across the globe, the protest actions of platform workers themselves have made headlines, and have played a key role in bringing the challenges they face to the attention of policy-makers and the general public. At the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest, we have painstakingly assembled a unique global database of platform worker protests taking place since 2017, as a resource for researchers and policy-makers, and also for trade unions, worker advocates and activists. We are very happy to be part of the Gigpedia initiative, which brings together numerous sources of information on platform work from across the globe.”

Want to learn more about Gigpedia, or interested in joining this initiative? Send an email to office@wageindicator.org