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Start date:
Sep 2018
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End date:
Feb 2021
- Contact:
- Project site
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Funder:
- ESRC
This project aims to understand the contextual, contractual and practical nature of platform work, to identify its shortfall from decent work standards and to contribute to the development of its governance and regulation.
Overview
Digital work platforms represent a rapidly growing new economic model that provides employment for millions of workers in the global South. Little is understood about this important emergent form of employment but evidence so far points to inherent precarity and inequality, falling far short of International Labour Organisation’s decent work standards. The platform economy has widened access to work for millions around the world, but at the same time has opened up abuse of workers and erosion of rights through the legal terminology of ‘worker’ – a situation that disproportionately affects women and migrants. Unless action is taken, this insecure, “indecent” work will become the new norm for growing numbers of workers (and especially vulnerable workers) in the South. This project thus aims to understand the contextual, contractual and practical nature of platform work; to identify its shortfall from decent work standards; to contribute to the development of governance and regulation; and to propose and enact new standards of specific relevance to platform work in developing countries.
Latest blog posts
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Fairwork announces Voluntary Scoring
Date Published: 14 May 2020 - 1:43 pm
Authors: Flora Seddon
Fairwork focuses on the major companies that use digital platforms to distribute piecemeal work to workers, in several countries. One of the questions we have been asked is whether platforms who are located outside our focus countries, or ...
Read More Fairwork announces Voluntary Scoring -
Join our team. We are hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher.
Date Published: 18 June 2019 - 1:18 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Postdoctoral Researcher Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford Grade 7: £32,236 – £39,609 p.a. We are looking for someone to join our team of ...
Read More Join our team. We are hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher. -
We’re Hiring! Work with us as a Researcher
Date Published: 30 January 2019 - 2:36 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
We are seeking to appoint a Researcher to work with us at the Fairwork Foundation. This position provides an exciting opportunity to work with ...
Read More We’re Hiring! Work with us as a Researcher
People
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Prof D'Arcy Du Toit
University of Western Cape
Co-Investigator
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Prof Sandra Fredman
Faculty of Law, University of Oxford
Co-Investigator
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Prof Mark Graham
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Principal Investigator
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Prof Richard Heeks
University of Manchester
Co-Investigator
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Prof Jean-Paul Van Belle
University of Cape Town
Co-Investigator
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Dr Jamie Woodcock
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Researcher
Publications
Journal articles
- Graham, M., Woodcock, J., Heeks, R., Mungai, P., Van Belle, J.-.P., du Toit, D., Fredman, S., Osiki, A., van der Spuy, A. and Silberman, S.M. (2020) "The Fairwork Foundation: Strategies for improving platform work in a global context", Geoforum. 112 (2020) 100-103.
- FREDMAN, S., du Toit, D., GRAHAM, M., Howson, K., Heeks, R., van Belle, J.-.P., Mungai, P. and Osiki, A. (2020) "Thinking out of the Box: Fair work for Platform Workers", King's Law Journal. 31 (2) 236-249.
- FREDMAN, S., du Toit, D. and GRAHAM, M. (2020) "Towards legal regulation of platform work: Theory and practice", Industrial Law Journal (Juta).
- Heeks, R., Graham, M., Mungai, P., Van Belle, J.-.P. and Woodcock, J. (2020) "Systematic Evaluation of Platform Work Against Decent Work Standards: Development of a New Framework and Application in the Global South", Digital Development Working Paper. (85).
Events
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Unpaid Labour in the Platform Economy: A Typology of Wage Theft in the Digital Age
28 October 2021, 17:30 - 18:30
This talk - in discussion with Dr Kelle Howson - explores the dual nature of unpaid labour in platform work.
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Fairwork Cloudwork Ratings 2021: Labour Standards in the Cloudwork Economy
15 June 2021, 15:30 - 16:30
We would like to invite you to this one-hour-long webinar in which we will present the main findings of the report and discuss the labour conditions in the global cloudwork economy with a panel of distinguished experts.
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Fairwork Ecuador Ratings 2021: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
12 April 2021, 16:00 - 17:00
A presentation on the work of Fairwork in Ecuador, examining labour standards in the gig economy. Please note this webinar will be in Spanish.
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The Fairwork Foundation: Strategies for Improving Platform Work
22 July 2020, 13:00 - 14:00
In this webinar, Funda Ustek-Spilda and Srujana Katta will talk about the Fairwork Project, an action-research project at the Oxford Internet Institute.
Videos
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The Fairwork Foundation: Strategies for Improving Platform Work
Duration: 01:01:39
Date: 22 July 2020
In this webinar, Funda Ustek-Spilda and Srujana Katta talk about the Fairwork Project, an action-research project at the Oxford ... Read More The Fairwork Foundation: Strategies for Improving Platform Work
News
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New Oxford report shows freelance and microwork platforms fail to provide minimum fairness standards for their global workforce
15 June 2021
Millions of people across the world now work remotely for freelance and microwork platforms, creating a largely invisible workforce, often based in low-income countries, that offer outsourcing services to international clients and help power AI systems.
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Oxford report reveals best and worst practices in gig economy
25 May 2021
Eleven of the UK’s most popular digital labour platforms have been rated according to how fairly they treat workers. In the first study of its kind in the UK, Oxford researchers score companies on standards such as pay, conditions and management.
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Fairwork Foundation announces Code of Good Practice to protect gig workers in South Africa
6 November 2020
The Fairwork Foundation, in collaboration with researchers and legal academics from the Universities of the Western Cape, Oxford, Cape Town, and Manchester, is launching a new Code of Good Practice for platform workers in South Africa.
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Platform economy assessed for first time in Germany: COVID-19 pandemic brings into sharp relief risks faced by workers
21 May 2020
The Fairwork Project launches its first set of annual ratings for digital platforms in Germany, highlighting the precarious nature of work in the platform economy.
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Report finds gig workers are among the most vulnerable groups in South Africa’s Covid-19 crisis
13 May 2020
A research report released today shows that those working in South Africa’s gig economy are falling through the cracks of government and private sector responses to Covid-19.
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New report finds gig economy companies must do more to protect workers during COVID-19
27 April 2020
A new report has shone a light on the plight of some 50 million gig economy workers across the world since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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General Election outcome crucial for millions of gig workers
4 December 2019
Researchers from Oxford University say the 2019 General Election is a critical moment for the economic and social wellbeing of the millions of workers in the UK’s “gig economy”.
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Fairwork Foundation begins new project on the digital gig economy in South Africa
3 August 2018
Fairwork Foundation begins new project on the digital gig economy in South Africa
Blog
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Fairwork Ecuador Scores 2021: Rating fairness in the Latin American gig economy
Date Published: 30 March 2021 - 4:26 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Fairwork Ecuador Scores 2021: Rating fairness in the Latin American gig economy The Fairwork Ecuador 2021 report evaluates the working conditions in six of ...
Read More Fairwork Ecuador Scores 2021: Rating fairness in the Latin American gig economy -
Uber forced to recognise its drivers as workers, but falls short of offering Fair Pay and Representation
Date Published: 17 March 2021 - 3:02 pm
Authors: Srujana Katta
By Srujana Katta, Pablo Aguera, Akhil Kumar, Funda Ustek Spilda, Kelle Howson, Matthew Cole, Fabian Ferrari, Alessio Bertolini, David Sutcliffe, Mark Graham A month ...
Read More Uber forced to recognise its drivers as workers, but falls short of offering Fair Pay and Representation -
Rating fairness in the Indian platform economy: 2020 Fairwork scores
Date Published: 15 December 2020 - 2:24 pm
Authors: Sara Spinks
Rating fairness in the Indian platform economy: 2020 Fairwork scores In the second year of research, The Fairwork India 2020 report evaluates the working ...
Read More Rating fairness in the Indian platform economy: 2020 Fairwork scores -
California’s Proposition 22 Reinforces the Need for Fair Working Conditions Worldwide
Date Published: 10 November 2020 - 4:49 pm
Authors: Sara Spinks
Fairwork researchers Shelly Steward, Pablo Aguera Reneses, Srujana Katta, and Professor Mark Graham explain the implications of Proposition 22 legislation on gig economy workers. ...
Read More California’s Proposition 22 Reinforces the Need for Fair Working Conditions Worldwide -
Work for the Fairwork Foundation
Date Published: 23 July 2020 - 6:10 pm
Authors: Flora Seddon
Fairwork is an action-research project based at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. We research working conditions in the gig economy, in order ...
Read More Work for the Fairwork Foundation -
Fairwork announces Voluntary Scoring
Date Published: 14 May 2020 - 1:43 pm
Authors: Flora Seddon
Fairwork focuses on the major companies that use digital platforms to distribute piecemeal work to workers, in several countries. One of the questions we have been asked is whether platforms who are located outside our focus countries, or ...
Read More Fairwork announces Voluntary Scoring -
Second round of Fairwork’s yearly platform ratings in South Africa launched!
Date Published: 18 March 2020 - 1:27 pm
Authors: Sara Spinks
The Fairwork South Africa 2020 report highlights the precarious nature of work in the South African gig economy. This research is particularly timely in ...
Read More Second round of Fairwork’s yearly platform ratings in South Africa launched! -
Uber and Deliveroo’s ‘charter of good work’ is nothing but fairwashing
Date Published: 3 February 2020 - 6:53 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Latest analysis on the gig economy from researchers Kelle Howson, Srujana Katta, Funda Ustek-Spilda and Professor Mark Graham, The authors work at the ...
Read More Uber and Deliveroo’s ‘charter of good work’ is nothing but fairwashing -
How to build a fairer gig economy in 4 steps by Professor Mark Graham
Date Published: 4 November 2019 - 12:02 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
You’ve probably heard at least two things about the gig economy. First, that it’s big. In 2019, roughly one-in-10 workers in the UK earns ...
Read More How to build a fairer gig economy in 4 steps by Professor Mark Graham -
Join our team. We are hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher.
Date Published: 18 June 2019 - 1:18 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Postdoctoral Researcher Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford Grade 7: £32,236 – £39,609 p.a. We are looking for someone to join our team of ...
Read More Join our team. We are hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher. -
Fairwork project releases latest digital platform scores
Date Published: 4 June 2019 - 3:45 pm
Authors: Sara Spinks
Tens of millions of people across the world now find work through digital platforms. From Brazil and India, to South Africa and the United ...
Read More Fairwork project releases latest digital platform scores -
We’re Hiring! Work with us as a Researcher
Date Published: 30 January 2019 - 2:36 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
We are seeking to appoint a Researcher to work with us at the Fairwork Foundation. This position provides an exciting opportunity to work with ...
Read More We’re Hiring! Work with us as a Researcher -
We’re Hiring! Postdoc to focus on ‘fair work’ on digital work platforms in South Africa
Date Published: 3 August 2018 - 1:48 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Cross post from the Fairwork Foundation blog. We are about to launch a new phase of the Fairwork project in South Africa with our colleague at ...
Read More We’re Hiring! Postdoc to focus on ‘fair work’ on digital work platforms in South Africa -
Call for participation in rating the Fairwork Principles
Date Published: 16 May 2018 - 3:20 pm
Authors: Jamie Woodcock
There are now over seven million digital ‘platform workers’ that live all over the world, doing work that is outsourced via platforms or apps ...
Read More Call for participation in rating the Fairwork Principles -
Fairwork Foundation Stakeholder Meetings
Date Published: 16 May 2018 - 3:18 pm
Authors: Jamie Woodcock
We recently hosted two stakeholder meetings for the Fairwork project. The first was a two-part meeting in Geneva to engage with key stakeholders for ...
Read More Fairwork Foundation Stakeholder Meetings -
Help us shape the Fairwork Foundation: request for feedback
Date Published: 23 March 2018 - 10:20 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
In an earlier post, I described a new initiative that we recently started: The Fairwork Foundation. The goal of the Foundation is to certify ...
Read More Help us shape the Fairwork Foundation: request for feedback -
The Future of Work in the Global South
Date Published: 8 March 2018 - 10:30 am
Authors: Mark Graham
A network that I am part of – the The Future of Work in Developing Countries initiative – has just put out a ...
Read More The Future of Work in the Global South -
Towards a Fairer Platform Economy: Introducing the Fairwork Foundation
Date Published: 16 February 2018 - 7:25 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
This month, I started work on a new project together with my new colleague Jamie Woodcock: The Fairwork Foundation. With generous funding from ...
Read More Towards a Fairer Platform Economy: Introducing the Fairwork Foundation -
Introducing a FairWork Foundation
Date Published: 24 March 2017 - 11:35 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
A picture I took at a training programme for digital workers in Nairobi. The workers are being taught how to transcribe an audio file ...
Read More Introducing a FairWork Foundation
Press
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At the whim of Amazon’ — after the pandemic, gig workers are getting organized
Date Published: 21 July 2021
Source: Politico
The coronavirus pandemic may have caused the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression. And yet, for the gig workers that so many businesses and consumers have come to rely on, it’s also provided an impetus for a new, global rights movement.
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Belabored: Back to Work
Date Published: 4 June 2021
Source: Dissent magazine
If you’re nervous about going back to work, you’re not the only one. Workers and labor advocates discuss what the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions might mean for workplace safety and labor rights.
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Bolt Is Entering The Bustling Dark Store Business
Date Published: 31 May 2021
Source: Forbes
Bolt is throwing its hat in the ring in the increasingly crowded field for dark stores for food and grocery deliveries.
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11 Digital labour platforms rated in new Oxford report
Date Published: 31 May 2021
Source: Irish Tech News
The UK’s most popular digital labour platforms have been rated by Oxford researchers through fair principles on the treatment of their workers.
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Gig work employers criticised for failing to ensure minimum wage
Date Published: 25 May 2021
Source: Thomson Reuters
The first study of its kind, by the Oxford Internet Institute, looked at how fairly 11 of Britain’s best known platforms treat workers, with three scoring zero out of 10.
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Only two in 11 gig economy employers guarantee staff minimum wage
Date Published: 25 May 2021
Source: Employee Benefits
New research from the Oxford Internet Institute has revealed that just two out of 11 platforms in the UK gig economy guarantee their workers receive the national minimum wage.
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Bolt and Amazon worst on gig economy working conditions, Oxford University says
Date Published: 25 May 2021
Source: Sifted
Only two of the platforms surveyed were able to show they ensure riders get the minimum wage.
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Migrants in Latin America Have Turned to Delivery Gigs During the Pandemic.
Date Published: 10 April 2021
Source: TIME
But Drivers Say They're Facing Hostility and Mistreatment.
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India’s gig economy
Date Published: 30 March 2021
Source: Financial Express
The transaction value of the volume of work performed by gig workers could be worth more than $250 billio
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Sometimes sleeping on the job should be paid too
Date Published: 23 March 2021
Source: FT
Is it possible to be "at work" - and so legally owed the minimum wage - while you are asleep in bed?
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Fairwork reaction to Uber decision to classify drivers as ‘workers’
Date Published: 18 March 2021
Source: Sky News
Listen to Fairwork researcher Dr Kelle Howson unpacking Uber's new policy for UK drivers on Sky News
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Uber Says Its UK Drivers Are ‘Workers,’ but Not Employees
Date Published: 17 March 2021
Source: Wired
FOR YEARS, UBER has deployed lobbyists to world capitals to protect its business model. Its lawyers have argued that Uber drivers are independent contractors, using a service that connects them with people who need rides.
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Uber drivers are workers not self-employed, Supreme Court rules
Date Published: 20 February 2021
Source: BBC News
Uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than self-employed, the UK's Supreme Court has ruled.
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Uber loses gig workers rights challenge in UK Supreme Court
Date Published: 19 February 2021
Source: Tech Crunch
Uber has lost a long running employment tribunal challenge in the UK’s Supreme Court — with the court dismissing the ride-hailing giant’s appeal and reaffirming earlier rulings that drivers who brought the case are workers, not independent contractors.
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Ben Wray – Uber drivers are workers from the moment they log-in, UK Supreme Court rules
Date Published: 19 February 2021
Source: Brave New Europe
The legal verdicts against Uber and for workers are mounting up across Europe. Its business model may not be able to survive this.
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Uber could give gig workers a better deal but it’s lobbying EU to lower standards, says Fairwork
Date Published: 17 February 2021
Source: Yahoo!
Uber has been accused of downplaying its influence over working conditions in the gig economy after the ride-hailing giant published a white paper earlier this week in which it lobbied for a 'Prop 22' style deregulation of Europe's labor laws.
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Gig platforms treated workers ‘unfairly’ during pandemic, study says
Date Published: 24 September 2020
Source: Politico
Gig economy platforms like Uber, Deliveroo, Bolt and Glovo failed to compensate workers enough for lost income during the coronavirus pandemic and many companies still don't offer sick pay despite increased risks of infection, a new study shows.
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How algorithms keep workers in the dark
Date Published: 28 August 2020
Source: BBC News
Despite companies’ constantly increasing reliance on data-churning tech, the way most algorithms work remains a mystery to many workers – which creates a power imbalance on the job.
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Algorithms workers can’t see are increasingly pulling the management strings
Date Published: 24 August 2020
Source: The Conversation
Algorithms – sets of instructions to solve a problem or complete a task – now drive everything from browser search results to better medical care.
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How is the platform economy responding to COVID-19?
Date Published: 14 May 2020
Source: Open Democracy
Although there is little evidence of ‘disaster capitalism’, ‘compassionate capitalism’ has been in rather short supply.
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If platforms do not protect gig workers, who will?
Date Published: 23 April 2020
Source: New Internationalist
Coronavirus is showing that precarity and dangerous working conditions are a choice companies have been making for workers, not a necessary payoff for flexibility and independence, say Fairwork researchers.
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From Social Distancing to Social Solidarity: Gig economy and the Covid-19
Date Published: 27 March 2020
Source: OECD Development Matters
The risks faced by members of the gig economy during the Covid-19 outbreak.
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The politics of Covid-19: Gig work in the coronavirus crisis
Date Published: 26 March 2020
Source: red pepper
How long are we willing to turn a blind eye to the vulnerabilities of essential workers on the bottom of the employment hierarchy, asks the Fairwork Foundation.
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SA gig economy report: The truth about working for Uber-like companies
Date Published: 23 March 2020
Source: Fast Company South Africa
Accounts from gig economy workers in South Africa and how technology impacts their experiences.
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SA gig workers may be vital, and yet vulnerable, during the pandemic
Date Published: 20 March 2020
Source: Daily Maverick
Gig workers make up about 1% of SA’s workforce and many people in self-isolation or quarantine may start leaning heavily on their services.
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Impact of Covid-19 on the gig economy
Date Published: 20 March 2020
Source: Cape Talk
Guest: Dr Kelle Howson | Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute
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Gig workers are at the front line of pandemic
Date Published: 19 March 2020
Source: Mail & Guardian
The coronavirus pandemic will affect the most vulnerable groups in our society. That includes those in casual or insecure employment who face loss of income or exposure to the virus, and so need greater protection by governments.
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COVID-19 brings into sharp relief the risks faced by gig workers
Date Published: 19 March 2020
Source: BBrief
South Africa’s current national state of disaster, and the uncertainty that has gripped the world, will especially impact the most vulnerable groups in our society including gig economy workers.
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The Untenable Luxury of Self-isolation
Date Published: 18 March 2020
Source: New Internationalist
A coalition of gig economy researchers at Fairwork explain how gig workers are being hit hardest by COVID-19.
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South Africa’s COVID-19 crisis brings gig economy workers into sharper focus
Date Published: 18 March 2020
Source: hypertext
What is being done to protect gig economy workers in South Africa during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Why you should start talking to your Uber driver
Date Published: 1 March 2020
Source: Daily Maverick
Next time you take an Uber, consider sitting in the front seat and asking your driver some questions.
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PAGO POR CLIQUE
Date Published: 3 February 2020
Source: UOL
"O trabalho dignifica, valoriza e enobrece o homem." Na contramão desse ditado, a tecnologia e a automação sempre tiveram propostas mais lenientes: quando os robôs puderem nos dar uma forcinha, finalmente poderemos trabalhar menos.
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Como construir uma “gig economy” mais justa em quatro etapas
Date Published: 25 November 2019
Source: Politike
Você provavelmente já ouviu pelo menos duas coisas sobre a “gig economy”, o fenômeno da oferta de trabalhos temporários por grandes empresas de tecnologia. Primeiro, ela é grande.
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Mark Graham, de Oxford Internet Institute: “Los trabajadores de plataformas, las plataformas y la economía gig están definidos por la vulnerabilidad de los trabajadores”
Date Published: 21 November 2019
Source: The Economist
Este académico británico está en una cruzada por humanizar la denominada gig economy. Para ello, investiga el impacto de las emergentes formas de trabajo digital en países de todo el globo. Es uno de los creadores de Fairwork, fundación que promueve el tr
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How to build a fairer gig economy in 4 steps
Date Published: 1 November 2019
Source: World Economic Forum
First, that it’s big. In 2019, roughly one-in-10 workers in the UK earns a living in the gig economy.
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The ghost work powering tech magic
Date Published: 2 September 2019
Source: BBC News
Armies of workers help power the technological wizardry that is reshaping our lives – but they are invisible and their jobs are precarious.
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One More Way to Die: Delivering Food in Cape Town’s Gig Economy
Date Published: 24 August 2019
Source: New York Times
CAPE TOWN — He had delivered his last food order for the evening and was driving home from Pinelands, a suburb in Cape Town, when an oncoming car swung in front of him, knocking him off his motorbike.
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A global gig economy
Date Published: 2 August 2019
Source: BBC Business Daily
Are freelancing platforms threatening worker's rights?
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El futuro del trabajo “La automatización promueve la inequidad”
Date Published: 27 May 2019
Source: El Pais
The OII's Mark Graham speaks to El Pais
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Plattformökonomie braucht Mindeststandards
Date Published: 15 April 2019
Source: Tagesspiegel
Die globale Plattformökonomie zeige die begrenzte Macht nationaler Regulierung auf, erklärt Mark Graham, Professor am Oxford Internet Institute. Ohne Mindeststandards werden Plattformarbeiter weiterhin ausgebeutet.