A new International Labour Organization convention aimed at strengthening protections for gig and platform workers has been adopted in Geneva, marking what unions describe as a turning point in global labour standards for the sector.
The agreement, backed by Australian unions and governments, sets out minimum rights for workers engaged through digital platforms, including clearer protections around pay, safety, dismissal processes and collective representation.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) were involved in advocacy during the negotiations, alongside international counterparts. ACTU President Michele O’Neil and TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine represented Australian union interests at talks in Geneva.
The convention extends rights to workers regardless of whether they are classified as employees or contractors, covering access to collective bargaining and union membership.
It also introduces safeguards intended to address the use of automated systems in platform work. Workers who are removed from platforms through algorithmic decision-making must be given written reasons and the ability to challenge those decisions.
The agreement requires platforms to reduce risks of misclassification and ensure timely payment, with wages meeting or exceeding minimum standards set in each country.
Provisions also allow workers to refuse tasks that present an immediate and serious risk to their health or safety without facing penalties. The convention further calls for protections against violence and harassment, including incidents involving customers or clients interacting through platform services.
Governments that ratify the convention will be required to introduce measures aimed at improving workplace safety and reducing accident risks across gig and platform work environments.
According to World Bank estimates, between 154 million and 435 million people globally are engaged in app-based gig work, highlighting the scale of the sector affected by the new framework.
ACTU President Michele O’Neil said the convention reflects growing recognition of platform workers within international labour standards.
“This historic decision will make a real difference in the lives of millions of gig and platform workers in the world, who are finally recognised internationally as being workers with rights,” she said.
She said the agreement builds on earlier reforms in Australia aimed at improving conditions in the gig economy.
“It builds on the groundbreaking Australian gig worker legislation introduced in 2024,” she said.
O’Neil said the convention challenges business models that rely on flexible classifications of workers without consistent access to minimum standards.
“It breaks into the business model of some of the largest and most profitable companies in the world who have designed ways of getting work done which have left workers without minimum standards of pay, conditions and safety,” she said.
She added that the framework recognises rights across different forms of work classification.
“It means for platform workers that whether you are an employee or a contractor, however you might be classified, or described, you have rights at work,” she said.
O’Neil pointed to safety and job security concerns within the sector, particularly for delivery and app-based workers.
“For the worker injured while rushing to complete a delivery, it mean that their safety, their health, their lives matter,” she said.
“For the worker who fears waking up one morning to find their account deactivated and their income gone, it means fairness, transparency and the right to be heard.”
The convention now moves to the ratification stage, where individual countries will decide whether to adopt and implement its provisions domestically.
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