An estimated 40 million people in the Global South work in the platform economy, where they do freelance or short term jobs that are outsourced to them through digital platforms or apps. Such "gigs" provide essential income and opportunities to many people. However, due to a lack of protection in the form of employment law or collective bodies, many platform workers face low pay, precarious job security as well as poor and dangerous working conditions. Together with the Oxford Internet Institute, BMZ is therefore establishing the "Fairwork Foundation". We do this by evaluating the working conditions of digital platforms against "five principles of fairness", and scoring them on how well (or poorly) they perform. In its first annual report, the Fairwork Foundation provides an insight into the gig economy and fair labour standards. |