Authors: Funda Ustek-Spilda, Richard Heeks, Mark Graham, Alessio Bertolini, NancySalem, Srujana
Katta, Sandy Fredman, Kelle Howson, Fabian Ferrari, Mounika Neerukonda, Pradyumna Taduri,
Adam Badger and Pablo Aguera Reneses.
Date of Publication: 2020
The report examines the impact of Covid-19 on gig workers. It’s key findings reflect the following:
Fair Pay: While it remains the most important for workers, we found little evidence of platforms
offering compensation for loss of income. Direct policies to increase pay were mostly advertised by
large multinational platforms, like Uber, but were often only available to a fraction of their
workforce. When government funding became available to gig workers in some countries, platforms
transferred the responsibility over to the governments. Fair conditions 1 (Prevention): More
platforms offered hygiene guidance and protective equipment to workers, especially since many of
these measures became compulsory by governments. ‘Contact-free services’ were also common but
more often oriented towards clients than workers. Fair Conditions 2 (Illness): Just over half of the
platforms surveyed were offering some form of sick pay policy. However, these often consisted of
flat-rate payments that in practice fall below the local minimum wage. Access to the schemes also
remains a contested issue. Where government financial relief was extended to gig workers,
platforms again shifted the responsibility to the state instead of offering extra relief measures. Fair
contracts: The normalisation of platforms offering (some form) of assistance to their workers during
the COVID-19 crisis suggests that the meaning of ‘independent contractor’ has begun to change. [View resource]
