Gig Working from the Perspective of FairWork Principles

This chapter defines gig working and presents some background to its development. Despite reports of exploitation of gig workers, this new way of working continues to grow. These forms of work facilitate improved matching of job opportunities to workers and offer flexible schedules. However, there is the danger of an extreme commodification of work and the spread of non-standard forms of work. FairWork assesses the work conditions of digital labour platforms in the platform economy internationally and scores individual platforms on how well, or how poorly, they do. The five principles of FairWork are: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contacts, fair representation and fair management. These spotlight the awareness that, while technology has brought many benefits, there are challenges in understanding and applying human dignity principles and in enabling everyone to flourish in this new context. The EU and Australia, among other countries, are proposing legislation, the aim being to guarantee fair and just working conditions which pay due attention to the psychosocial and physical health, and safety and dignity, of the those who work for platforms, as well as incorporate a human element in the management of gig workers.