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GENEVA: The International Labour Organisation agreed on Friday to adopt the first binding employment standards for gig workers in sectors such as ride-hailing and food delivery, potentially giving them rights on pay, safety and social benefits.
Central to the agreement is ensuring that platforms can no longer classify workers as independent contractors and sidestep minimum wage requirements and obligations such as healthcare, sick leave and social security contributions.
The standards, however, still need ratification by governments, and then enforcement. The US, for example, has frequently declined to ratify ILO conventions, whereas European countries have been more supportive.
A total of 406 members, including the governments of China, Japan, Germany, France and South Africa, voted in favour of the employment standards convention and eight, including the United States and New Zealand, voted against, while 36, including Britain and India, abstained. Members of the UN agency include governments, employers and workers.
