Paraguay

Fairwork Paraguay

The platform economy in Paraguay is an undeniable reality. As such, it demands study and analysis to improve the lives of its workers. TEDIC, a civil society organisation working at the intersection of technology and human rights, has applied Fairwork’s methodology for the first time in Paraguay. The Fairwork methodology is in line with TEDIC’s strategic advocacy and research activities, which tackle work in the platform economy from a human rights perspective with the aim of ensuring workers’ well-being.

By examining working conditions in the Paraguayan platform economy and highlighting current corporate practices, the Fairwork Paraguay project aims to generate a space for discussion between platforms, workers, policymakers and consumers. We hope that such a dialogue can contribute to fostering innovation while at the same time ensuring that fundamental labour standards are applied to all workers in Paraguay, including platform workers.

This year, we evaluated six ride-hailing and delivery platforms operating in Paraguay: Bolt, Uber, inDriver, Muv, PedidosYa and Monchis. The resulting very low scores highlight that much remains to be done to guarantee basic labour standards for platform workers in Paraguay. Out of the six studied platforms, only two platforms, MUV and PedidosYa, were able to score any points. These two platforms lead the first Fairwork ranking for Paraguay with a score of two and one point respectively. In light of these results, platforms need to take active measures to ensure that their workers are granted basic labour rights.

Moreover, Paraguay’s legal framework is currently unable to cope with the new challenges posed by technological advancements with respect to work and employment relations. These challenges include guaranteeing workers’ privacy and data protection and defining the nature of the work relationship when mediated by digital systems. Additionally, the lack of a regulation against all forms of discrimination in the workplace is a serious challenge. Without it, workers risk being subject to discriminatory practices by companies and customers – online and offline.