Philippines

Workers’ Stories 2025: Extreme Weather

In a climate-vulnerable country like the Philippines, school and work suspensions have become a routine response to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events. However, for platform workers in ride-hailing and delivery services, such an option is not available. On the contrary, the nature of their work and the algorithms of the platforms compel them to continue, as  demand for transportation, food, and parcel delivery rises especially during inclement weather. While platform work promises flexibility, the lack of stable and reliable income leaves workers with no choice but to keep working amid harsh weather conditions.

Get to know some of the experiences of platform workers working under extreme weather conditions:

Workers’ Stories 2025: Gendered Vulnerabilities

The rapid growth of gig work in the Philippines has reshaped the relationship between labour and domestic life for women. Gig work is not confined to the streets; it reaches deep into the household. Once imagined as a private refuge, the home now
doubles as a dispatch centre, a rest stop, and an emotional  anchor for workers whose labour is mediated by mobile apps. In this convergence of domesticity and platform-mediated  mobility, the home becomes an invisible yet essential infrastructure of the gig economy. It absorbs the risks and  uncertainties that platforms externalize while shouldering the emotional demands of precarious work.

Get to know more about women’s daily routines in the Philippines platform economy:

Comic:

By Kapitan Tambay

Podcast:

With the pandemic, the Philippines has seen an increased need for on-demand apps, which meant an influx of delivery riders in gig-work platforms. While these apps give access to alternative sources of income, workers are inevitably exposed to various work and health hazards. Workers from the gig economy are at risk due to the lack of labor laws in the country. In return, they fail to receive support and protection from unfair labor practices.

In this 3-part special of DLSU Questions, Dr. Cheryll Ruth Soriano, Principal Investigator of Fairwork Philippines, and the Communications Department Vice Chair of De La Salle University guide us as we embark on the journey of understanding the industry and economy of gig work here in the Philippines.

Webinar: Launch of the Fairwork Philippines Ratings 2023