India plans welfare measures for gig workers ahead of elections
New Delhi, IndiaReuters India plans to roll out welfare measures for “gig” workers employed through platforms like Amazon, Uber and India’s Zomato as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government prepares for elections, government and trade union officials said. The plan, part of the Social Security Code enacted in 2020, could include accident, health insurance and retirement […]
US gig worker murders expose apps’ safety gaps, says labour group
Los Angeles, USThomson Reuters Foundation Two years after fleeing political persecution in Bangladesh, Salauddin Bablu was stabbed to death in Manhattan by a man who stole the electric bike he used to deliver food during long shifts for the Grubhub app. “When Salauddin died, his family lost everything,” Bablu’s brother-in-law, Muhammad Ahsan, said by phone […]
“A digital wild west”?: Concerns grow over delivery apps, gig work and “queue jumping”
UMBERTO BACCHI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports that third-party apps that let delivery riders pay to ‘jump the queue’ for orders are angering gig workers in Italy…
Labour rights: Food delivery drivers question gig platforms’ safety nets
KIM HARRISBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports, amid a surge in the gig economy, about growing concerns over the rights of food delivery drivers around the world…
“Like slaves”: Lebanon’s delivery riders struggle as crisis bites
MAYA GEBEILY and TIMOUR AZHARI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on the challenges facing freelance delivery workers in the Middle Eastern nation…
Asia’s gig workers strive to match global gains on labour rights
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Emboldened by the victories of delivery riders from New York to the Netherlands, gig workers in Asia are increasing pressure for better conditions from app-based businesses that have thrived during the pandemic. The platforms, like their counterparts in the United States or Europe, have taken advantage of lax labour protections to demand long […]
Wow!: Social entrepreneurs fight to make gig work fairer, greener
KIM HARRISBERG, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how social enterprises are trying to rejig the gig economy model by offering tech-driven, on-demand services that prioritise workers’ rights and ethical supply chains…
Egypt wants to register millions of gig workers for state insurance, aid
Cairo, EgyptThomson Reuters Foundation Egypt will start registering millions of gig workers in order to offer them health insurance and emergency state aid during the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken a particularly heavy toll on the nation’s ad-hoc employees, officials said. There are at least 14 million gig workers in Egypt, and while some workers […]
Tech experts voice concerns of gig worker surveillance in pandemic
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Growing armies of gig workers have little to no say in how they are being monitored during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers and advocates told a conference last week, calling for better oversight in how tracking tools are deployed. From Singapore to Estonia, business is turning to technology to help people resume […]