ILO: Strengthen Global Rules to Protect Gig Workers – Human Rights Watch

Report on the Proposed International Labour Organization Treaty on Digital Platform Work and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Introduction: A Global Standard for Decent Work in the Gig Economy

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is developing the first global treaty to regulate work on digital platforms. This initiative represents a critical opportunity to align the rapidly growing gig economy with international human rights law and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This report analyzes the challenges within the platform economy and outlines key recommendations for the draft treaty, with a significant emphasis on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

2.0 Challenges in Platform Work as Barriers to Sustainable Development

The current model of many digital labor platforms presents significant obstacles to the achievement of several SDGs. The business practices employed often shift risks onto workers and undermine fundamental labor rights, creating systemic challenges that the proposed ILO treaty must address.

2.1 Undermining SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The core principles of decent work are frequently violated in the gig economy. These violations directly contravene the targets set forth in SDG 8.

• Worker Misclassification: Platforms commonly classify workers as self-employed, thereby evading legal obligations. This practice denies workers access to fundamental rights, social protection, and stable employment, which are central tenets of SDG 8.
• Precarious Working Conditions: The lack of protections leads to unsafe working environments and algorithm-driven pressures that push individuals to work longer or faster, compromising the goal of safe and secure work environments for all workers (Target 8.8).
• Suppression of Collective Bargaining: Workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively are often impeded, preventing them from advocating for improved conditions and fair wages, a key component of decent work.

2.2 Impact on Other Key Sustainable Development Goals

The negative impacts of current platform work models extend beyond SDG 8, affecting broader development objectives.

• SDG 1 (No Poverty): The failure to guarantee minimum wages and the imposition of work-related expenses on workers can result in earnings below the poverty line, directly undermining efforts to eradicate poverty in all its forms.
• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The combination of high-pressure work, lack of safety protections, and inadequate social security (including health coverage) poses significant risks to the physical and mental well-being of workers.
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): The exploitative nature of gig work can exacerbate existing inequalities, as it disproportionately affects vulnerable populations who lack alternative employment opportunities.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): The use of opaque and unaccountable algorithms for management, without avenues for meaningful human review or appeal, represents a failure of institutional accountability and access to justice for workers.

3.0 Recommendations for an SDG-Aligned ILO Treaty

To ensure the new treaty effectively promotes sustainable development, it must incorporate robust protections that address the systemic issues within the platform economy. The following recommendations are proposed to strengthen the draft text in alignment with the SDGs.

1. Establish a Presumption of Employment Status: To advance SDG 8, the treaty should treat platform workers as employees by default, unless a company can definitively prove genuine self-employment. This ensures that all workers receive fundamental labor rights and social protections.
2. Guarantee Fair Wages and Social Security: The treaty must mandate fair remuneration for all working time, including waiting periods, and require platforms to cover work-related expenses and social security contributions. This is essential for achieving SDG 1 and SDG 8.
3. Enforce Safe and Healthy Working Conditions: In line with SDG 3 and SDG 8, the treaty must require companies to mitigate work-related risks, including those created by algorithmic pressure, to ensure a safe and healthy working environment.
4. Implement Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability: To support SDG 16, the treaty must mandate transparency in how automated systems manage workers and affect pay. It must also guarantee the right to a meaningful human review and appeal of automated decisions.
5. Protect the Right to Organize: The treaty must explicitly protect gig workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining without fear of retaliation or digital surveillance, a foundational element for achieving decent work under SDG 8.

4.0 Conclusion: Fostering Inclusive Growth Through Global Partnership

The ILO treaty negotiations, a multi-stakeholder process involving governments, employers, and workers, exemplify SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). By adopting a strong, rights-based treaty, the international community can ensure that the digital economy contributes positively to the 2030 Agenda. A robust legal framework will correct the human rights violations faced by millions of gig workers worldwide and demonstrate that economic innovation can and must be aligned with the principles of decent work and sustainable, inclusive development.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• The article’s core focus is on ensuring “decent work for all platform workers.” It directly addresses issues of unfair labor practices in the gig economy, such as low wages, lack of social security, and unsafe working conditions, which are central to SDG 8. The call for a new global treaty aims to protect labor rights and promote a safe and secure working environment for this growing segment of the workforce.

SDG 1: No Poverty

• The article connects the lack of worker protections to poverty by mentioning that gig workers are often paid “poverty wages” and receive “pay below the minimum wage.” The demand for fair wages and mandatory social security contributions is a direct measure to prevent in-work poverty and provide a safety net, aligning with SDG 1’s goal of eradicating poverty in all its forms.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• The article highlights the significant power imbalance between large digital platform corporations and their individual workers. It describes how companies “shift costs and risks onto their workers” and use opaque algorithms for “exploitative management.” By advocating for policies like fair wages, social protection, and the right to collective bargaining, the proposed treaty aims to reduce the economic and social inequalities faced by gig workers.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• The entire discussion revolves around the creation of a “new global treaty” through the International Labour Organization (ILO). This process represents an effort to build strong, effective, and accountable international institutions and legal frameworks. The goal is to establish the “rule of law” for the digital platform economy, ensuring that workers have access to justice and are protected from “errors and injustices” caused by unaccountable algorithmic systems.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

1. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men… and equal pay for work of equal value.
   • The article directly relates to this target by demanding “fair wages for all working time” and condemning pay that falls “below the minimum wage.” The overarching goal of the treaty is to ensure “decent work” for platform workers.
2. Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers… and those in precarious employment.
   • This target is central to the article. Gig work is described as a form of precarious employment. The text explicitly calls for protecting workers’ rights by preventing misclassification, guaranteeing “safe and healthy working conditions,” and protecting the “rights to organize and bargain collectively.”

SDG 1: No Poverty

1. Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
   • The article’s recommendation that the treaty should “require companies to cover the… social security contributions that traditional employers pay” directly supports the implementation of social protection systems for this vulnerable group of workers.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

1. Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality.
   • The proposed treaty is a policy intervention aimed at establishing fair wage and social protection standards for gig workers, thereby addressing the inequality between these workers and those in traditional employment, as well as the power imbalance with platform companies.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

1. Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
   • The negotiation of a “new global treaty” by the ILO is a direct action to promote the rule of law at the international level for the gig economy. The call for “meaningful human review and appeal for automated decisions” is a mechanism to ensure access to justice for workers affected by algorithmic management.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

For SDG 8 (Targets 8.5 & 8.8)

• Implied Indicator: Proportion of platform workers earning below the legal or sectoral minimum wage. The article’s reference to “pay below the minimum wage” suggests this as a key metric of exploitation.
• Implied Indicator: Legal and de facto classification of platform workers (e.g., employee vs. self-employed). The article identifies worker “misclassification” as a primary problem to be solved.
• Implied Indicator: Percentage of platform workers with access to collective bargaining mechanisms. The text explicitly calls for protecting the “rights to organize and bargain collectively.”

For SDG 1 (Target 1.3)

• Implied Indicator: Proportion of platform workers covered by at least one form of social protection (e.g., health, unemployment, pension). The demand for companies to cover “social security contributions” makes this a direct measure of progress.

For SDG 16 (Target 16.3)

• Mentioned Indicator: The existence of an international legal instrument governing platform work. The entire article is premised on the negotiation of the “ILO treaty,” making its creation and ratification a primary indicator.
• Implied Indicator: Number of platform companies with transparent policies on algorithmic management and established mechanisms for human review and appeal. The call for “transparency about how automated systems affect all aspects of work” and “meaningful human review” implies this as a measure of accountability.

Summary Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: hrw.org