Fairwork South Africa Ratings 2023: Advocating for Safety and Dignity in the Platform Economy

This report is the latest iteration of Fairwork’s ongoing assessment of the working conditions on digital labour platforms in South Africa. This year, in 2023, Fairwork conducted its fifth annual rating in the country, evaluating working conditions for five platforms across various sectors: ride-hailing, food delivery, home maintenance and domestic services.

Those platforms are as follows: Uber, Uber Eats, Mr D Food, Home+ and Sweep South. The platforms were rated against the Fairwork Principles – Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management and Fair Representation. Cumulatively, during the five years of research in South Africa, Fairwork has conducted a total of 50 ratings, across 18 digital labour platforms, in a bid to improve the working conditions platform workers. Twenty-four pro-worker changes to platform practices and policies have been secured as a result of this research. Still, there is much to be desired, especially in light of external factors that have worsened platform worker welfare, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.