A Review of Policy Options and Scenarios on Philippine Platform Work

For the past two years, Fairwork Philippines has released its Year 1 and Year 2 Reports, which consistently show that only a few platforms have managed to earn score/s within the Fairwork Principles. Aside from the finding of lack or subpar policies and practices by the platforms themselves, what is clear from the Reports is the wide gap in government regulation as to how platform work is conducted.

The Policy Brief bridges the findings in the Reports into possible pathways for reform, upon which the Philippine government, particularly the executive and legislative branches of the government, can take action. It also aims to provide technical assistance with respect to platform work to concerned sectors, such as the government, civil society organisations, labour organisations, the academe, and the public.

An overview of the policy and legal landscape points to the fact that a regulatory bottleneck exists. Most, if not all, gig workers are identified by platforms as partners, third-party service providers, or independent contractors. Its main implication is the platform workers’ exclusion from the worker protections granted by the Labor Code.