Impact

Fairwork Egypt was invited to discuss work arrangements in the gig economy at the National Forum on the Future of Work In 2022. The panel consisted high-level stakeholders, including the MEP/Treasurer of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce. Building on this, Fairwork Egypt has participated in discussions with Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity over their “Your Road is Safe’’ initiative. The initiative is making significant strides in improving the working conditions of couriers, including via the provision of free safety training, equipment, and rest stops and mechanisms for collective representation. The ministry is conducting roundtable discussions with delivery platforms (InDrive, Mrsool and Talabat) to identify ways to expand the initiative.

Fairwork Kenya, in collaboration with Bill Mutoro, the Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and Allied Workers Union (TAWU), facilitated the formation of an informal group for platform worker unions and advocates. The group consists of representatives from the National Union of Professional App-based Transport Workers (NUPABTW) in Nigeria, TAWU and Rights of Digital Comrades (RDCA) in Kenya, a workers’ association in Tanzania, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) network. Together with Bill Mutoro, Fairwork Kenya also provided inputs for the following report, ‘Global: We are All Workers (Platform Work) Kenya Country Case Study’ (2022).

Fairwork Kenya also supported TAWU and the Automobile Association of Kenya in their submission to the Ministry of Transport regarding the pricing mechanism for ride-hailing platforms. The submitted memorandum drew on Fairwork’s evidence, emphasising that workers need to be compensated for all their labour time, factoring in both fixed and operational costs.

Fairwork Uganda participated in the Ugandan Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development’s workshop, “Understanding and improving women’s work on digital platforms in Uganda.”

In India, Fairwork researchers, Dr Balaji Parthasarathy and Dr Janaki Srinivasan provided evidence to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT on the conditions of platform workers in August 2022. Following on from this, in 2023, the Fairwork India team engaged closely in the consultations leading up to the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023. This bill is the first legislation produced in India to provide gig workers with a social safety net. Building on the Rajasthan experience, the team is now participating in consultations on a similar legislation in the state of Karnataka. In parallel, the Fairwork India is in dialogue with the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission (TNPC) to develop a policy framework for gig workers in that state, by drawing on research underway there.

In August 2022, Fairwork Pakistan’s partner, the Centre for Labour Research, drafted legislation for platform workers. This was submitted along with the Fairwork Pakistan report to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and HRD. The Fairwork Pakistan team also presented their draft legislation at a consultation held by the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS).

In Southeast Asia, the Fairwork Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore teams were consulted for the 2023 ASEAN Employment Outlook: The Quest for Decent Work in Platform Economy: Issues, Opportunities and Ways Forward. The report cited Fairwork as a “benchmark that stakeholders can use to assess platform labour practices” and that “international, regional, and local communities can adopt.” Prior to this, the Singapore High Commission invited Professor Mark Graham and Dr Adam Badger to meet with the Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore Trades Union Congress (STUC) to discuss the role that Fairwork’s evidence could play in shaping forthcoming regulation. In addition, in Indonesia, a Ministry of Labour representative participated in the launch of the 2022 report. The publication of the report inspired government representatives – from the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Information and Communication – to engage in discussion with representatives of worker associations and policy institutes.

The 2021 Fairwork Germany report was endorsed by Katja Kipping, Senator for Integration, Labour and Social Services of Berlin. The Berlin Senate also signed the Fairwork Pledge. 

Dr Alessio Bertolini participated in the European Economic and Social Committee Public Hearing in 2022. Later, in 2023, he participated in the Open Society European Policy Institute’s consultation regarding the European Commission proposal for the Directive on platform work. 

Fairwork met with Serbia’s Ministry of Labour in Belgrade to shed light harms and risks experienced by platform workers under the current regulatory regime.  Ministry of Labour representatives later participated in a meeting hosted by Fairwork Serbia in May 2022, alongside union representatives, worker activists and platform managers. 

Dr Oğuz Alyanak participated in a conference organised by the European Trade Federation on 10 October 2023, where he discussed the role of Fairwork as a good practice in organising and advocacy. 

Since 2021, Fairwork has been closely following the developments on the EU Directive on platform work. Our close monitoring of the Directive has culminated in four policy briefs/responses, as well as several meetings with members of the EU Commission and European Parliament. 

Fairwork (2024) Fairwork’s Response to the EU Directive on Platform Work: Platforms Should Follow Enforceable Standards!; UK. Available at: https://fair.work/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/03/Fairworks-Response-to-the-EU-Directive-on-Platform-Work.pdf 

Fairwork (2024) Searching for Hope Beyond the Failed EU Directive on Platform Work: Fairwork’s Response to The Failed Council Vote; UK. Available at: https://fair.work/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/02/Searching-for-Hope-Beyond-the-Failed-EU-Directive-on-Platform-Work-1.pdf 

Fairwork (2023) Policy Brief: Fairwork Recommendations for the EU Directive on Platform Work; UK. Available at: https://fair.work/en/fw/publications/policy-brief-fairwork-recommendations-for-the-eu-directive-on-platform-work/ 

Fairwork (2021): Fairwork Response to the European Commission’s Proposal for a Directive on Platform Work. Available at: https://fair.work/en/fw/blog/fairwork-response-to-the-european-commissions-proposal-for-a-directive-on-platform-work/ 

In the UK, the House of Lords released a report (2021) based on an inquiry into digitalisation and the future of work, which included key recommendations based on Fairwork’s input, such as the introduction of “new legislation to provide platform workers with defined and enhanced employment rights. (Paragraph 187)”.

In December 2022, Fairwork researchers met with Justin Madders MP, the Shadow Minister for both Employment Rights and Protection, and the Future of Work. Madders committed to sharing Fairwork scores with all the relevant UK platforms and demanding positive changes to achieve greater levels of fairness in the platform economy. He also committed to staying up to date with the unique Fairwork dataset and using it to shape a future legislative agenda.

With regards to our work on AI, Fairwork team members also submitted evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on the “Governance of Artificial Intelligence” in November 2022. This was later published as a policy brief.

In 2024, the FCDO cited Fairwork in their Digital Development Strategy 2030-2040, noting that, in its agenda on the digital transformation of labour markets, they will seek to complement our existing work.

Also in 2024, Fairwork and Professor Mark Graham provided crucial input to the ‘Good Work’ section of the 2024 London Growth Plan developed by the Greater London Authority.

Fairwork teams across Latin America have engaged with governments to improve and inform regulatory responses in several countries.

In Brazil, has Fairwork engaged with government’s tri-partite working group which is seeking to devise a bill to protect workers’ rights. Furthermore, in Peru, the Fairwork team met with the Minister of Labor and the Vice Minister for the formation of a Working Group that recommends improvements to the platform economy. The team also met with Sigrid Bazán, the Republic’s Congresswoman and Labour Commission’s President. For its effort in improving conditions of platform workers, Fairwork Peru was awarded the Prize for Digital Democracy, an annual award given to organisations and individuals who help improve our digital society.

In Colombia, the Fairwork team provided evidence to the Ministry of Labor about the precarious conditions of platform workers in the country. Fairwork researchers in Chile also participated in a roundtable discussion on working conditions and employment on digital labour platforms, organized by the Ministry of Labour. The round table centred on implementing and evaluating the new platform labour Law which came to effect in September 2022. Following on from that, Fairwork Chile researchers participated in a taskforce was put together to work on the implementation of the new law.

Extensive engagements have also taken place in Ecuador. In 2022, the Fairwork team was invited by Congresswoman Johana Ortiz to present the Fairwork project at the Ecuadorian Congress as part of the debate, knowledge and resolution of the Report for First Debate of the Legislative Initiatives related to the regime of Labour Relationships in Digital Platforms. Since then, Fairwork Ecuador had fed into the draft platform labour bill. The team has also advised Loja’s municipality on the issue of security in public spaces, focusing on delivery workers.

Aside from our own engagements, Fairwork country teams have actively supported the formation of groups such as the Brazilian Platform Work Researchers’ Forum and a platform workers’ association in collaboration with one of the leading trade union confederations in Peru.

Finally, in 2024, Dr Katie Wells testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education & the Workforce,
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Drawing on Fairwork research she addressed the shortcomings of portable benefit proposals advanced by gig companies. In 2023, US Senator Ed Markey’s drew on the Fairwork AI principles for a letter sent by him and colleagues (Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Jamaal Bowman, Katie Porter, Mark Pocan, Ron Wyden and Pramilia Jayapal) to big-tech CEOs regarding working conditions in AI supply chains.

Fairwork engages regularly with the International Labour Organization (ILO). For example, a member of the team taught a seminar on platform work in their Gender Academy, and Fairwork Tanzania’s policy brief was presented at workshop in Geneva in December.

Fairwork also presented at the World Bank’s Labour GSG event titled “Regulating platform-based work in developing countries: How to balance job opportunities and workers’ protection.” This presentation provided insights about how platforms workers perceive their work, specifically focusing on low pay, long working hours, and limited power to negotiate rates. The Fairwork Principles were highlighted as a benchmark for companies, workers, customers and policymakers. The audience included members of the World Bank, the Trade Union Congress and the US Department of Labor.