Fairwork Philippines Ratings 2023: Protecting Worker Health, Safety, and Security in the Philippine Platform Economy

Gig workers spend long hours on the road everyday. But after factoring in the cost of gas, mobile data credit, vehicle maintenance and repair costs, alongside loan payments for their vehicles, most workers cannot meet the basic minimum wage while also facing dangerous working conditions, a lack of safety nets, and long-term financial insecurity.

These are the main findings of this year’s Fairwork Philippines report, published by De La Salle University in partnership with the University of Oxford. The report, which evaluates 10 platforms – Angkas, Borzo, GrabCar, Grab Food/Express, Foodpanda, Joyride, Joyride Car, Lalamove, Maxim, and TokTok – in the ride-hailing and delivery sectors, focuses on gig worker health, safety, and security.

Despite government and market forces continually promoting gig work as a viable livelihood opportunity for Filipinos, the findings of this year’s report shows no improvement in the conditions of workers in comparison to last year. The report shows that many platform workers are left to suffer conditions of financial insecurity and major safety risks due to limited protections.