Leigh Osofsky, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Delivery workers and others who ensure most people don’t have to go outside for essential goods are creating what economic theorists call an uncompensated ‘positive externality.’
A delivery rider in Sydney’s deserted Chinatown precinct, March 24 2020.
Steven Saphore/AAP
A scholar of the American safety net explains how, through her own brother, she’s getting a personal window into what it means to face COVID-19 as a worker in the gig economy.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon at a White House press conference joining government and corporate officials – but no representatives of workers.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
If government and business collaborate with workers, a scholar of labor relations writes, current economic problems could get less severe, the recovery smoother and lasting prosperity more likely.
Uber’s loss of its licence to operate in London signals uberisation is not an unstoppable force. Job insecurity, though, is on the march.
Will Oliver/EPA
We need to see uberisation in the context of all forms of precarious and insecure work becoming more acceptable.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks with construction workers who stopped to listen to his speech in Essex, Ont., Sept. 20, 2019.
Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Three federal public policy changes impacting employed and contingent workers could significantly buffer anticipated impacts of automation, Artificial Intelligence and a changing economy.
Work isn’t as stable as it once was.
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A growing number of jobs are becoming less stable, with fewer benefits and stagnating wages. This is taking a significant toll on the psychological health of workers.
Uber has sparked protests around the world. It is seen as exploiting its own drivers and harming those employed in regulated taxi industries.
Justin Lane/AAP
Many Uber drivers do their job because the alternatives are worse. It’s an unhappy work choice faced by an increasing number of Australians.
The delivery riders consider that the correction of possible errors is part of their missions, even if they are not remunerated for these additional tasks.
Massimo Parisi / Shutterstock
Many vulnerable workers aren’t covered for work-related injuries and illness. Employment law is largely a federal matter while compensation schemes are state-run, but there’s a way to fix the problem.
Many footballs originate in the homes of women in one Pakistani region.
It isn’t easy, but musicians build ‘portfolio careers’ by being adaptable, multiskilled and willing to learn, so they can pursue creative work that they believe in.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that food-delivery platform Foodora underpaid three workers.
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That the Fair Work Ombudsman brought a case against Foodora suggests its workers are most likely to be classified as employees. This could dissuade other platforms from offering similar benefits.
Uber and Lyft drivers shouldn’t celebrate just yet.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
The California Supreme Court made it harder to classify workers as independent contractors. But it’s not quite the ‘game changer’ some observers claim it to be.
The study found that the disability support workers regularly spent unpaid time on two types of work activities.
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While disability carers are employed to work part-time hours, they often have long work days with short periods of work interspersed with non-work periods.
Many gig workers are classified as independent contractors, leaving them without minimum wages and other workplace protections. Creating a new category of worker could fix that.
With more Australian workers joining the gig economy, questions about how these workers will fare in their retirement are becoming more pressing.
Gig workers are characterised as contractors rather than employees, and are paid per delivery rather than per hour. That’s why certain visa restrictions don’t apply to them.
Charles Platiau/Reuters