Friday, 30 December
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Platform workers, already more vulnerable to high inflation and high fuel costs, are also more vulnerable to job losses, and those still working are experiencing expenses exceeding their hourly pay. Many of them also face threats to their safety as they work. Is there any hope for their conditions to improve? asks Pitso Tsibolane.
According to the recently released economic indicators by Statistics South Africa, the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) has shrunk by 0,7% in the second quarter of 2022[1]. This is after a promising recovery of two consecutive quarters of economic growth.
This latest round of bad news is a blow to the hopes of millions of households battling to make ends meet in an already fragile national economy that had only recently recovered to pre-Covid19 GDP levels[2]. This latest quarterly decline is attributed to the double blow of devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal in May of this year[3], as well as the crippling load shedding.
Conventional wisdom on economic recovery posits a relatively benign adjustment period over the medium term. Workers and local economies are expected to revert to their original state. Dislocated workers are assumed to be able to relocate from affected regions to greener pastures – ultimately resulting in jobless rates gravitating towards the mean.
However, ongoing empirical research[4] from the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research suggests, contrary to conventional opinions, that the reality of cyclical economic adjustment is neither automatic nor quick. A variety of challenges, such as switching costs, prevent workers from quickly readjusting to new forms of employment. As a result, a large number of households fail to recoup lost earnings long after economic shocks.
This latest view brings cautionary gloom to the optimism that typically accompanies the “mind-over-matter” political rhetoric related to economic recoveries. The precarious nature of platform work –“gig” workers that are hired through digital platforms such as SweepSouth or MrD – whose algorithmic foundations are built on casualising labour, mean that workers are always at a higher risk of losing their jobs, particularly in times of economic stress.
The latest Fairwork research report reveals that in addition to the embedded platform work precarity, platform workers, already more vulnerable to high inflation and high fuel costs, are experiencing expenses that are exceeding their hourly pay.
Workers are also facing higher levels of physical security threats as they conduct their work. Despite the dangers, workers feel pressure to take on high-risk jobs. In the e-hailing sector, as fuel prices and platform fees generally increase, drivers are compelled to work for longer hours to compete with other drivers. In the domestic work sector, women are also left with no option but to accept additional work, even at the risk of compromising their safety and childcare obligations at home.
Our research confirms the previous year’s findings, which are in line with other countries, both on the continent and abroad, that while platform workers are viewed as “independent partners”, they continue to operate under restrictive controls, such as constant surveillance, terminations due to unfavourable ratings, algorithmic pricing and discounting of prices determined by the platform. This is in addition to the lack of basic protections such as leave and occupational health cover.
So, the question must be posed: is there really hope for platform workers’ condition to improve?
We at Fairwork believe that the gig economy can be reimagined into more decent and fair opportunities. Improving working conditions for platform workers can be achieved by collaborative multi-sectoral engagement between platforms, policymakers, workers as well as consumers.
We propose that platforms ensure that work-related costs do not push workers below the local living wage. They should also find ways to ensure that workers are protected against income loss, particularly where workers are suddenly unable to work due to sickness, accidents, and other unexpected circumstances.
Platforms should also improve management transparency to ensure even-handedness and non-discrimination when dealing with worker grievances. In addition, platforms should consistently move towards seeking fair representation for workers to have a meaningful say in their employment conditions. This could be through a democratically governed cooperative model, a formally recognised union, or the ability to undertake collective bargaining with the platform.
The responsibility does not just lie with the platforms however. Policymakers should prioritise the provision of adequate and meaningful protection for workers regardless of their classification. This should also extend to social obligations, such as leave and overtime pay, maternity and paternity benefits. Labour protections should be aimed at ensuring decent and living pay standards.
Platform workers in South Africa tend to organise informally through social networking groups. These serve as spaces for belonging, self-help, and strategy exchange rather than collective associations that have recognised bargaining power. Irrespective of how their employment is classified or categorised, workers should have the right to organise in collective bodies, and platforms should have mechanisms that enable workers to have a say in the conditions of their work.
Lastly, consumers can also play their part by being intentional about the companies they choose to interact with. Our yearly ratings report provides readers with the information needed to choose the high-scoring platform operating in a sector. By doing this, users help to apply pressure on platforms to improve the conditions of their workers and, in turn, their scores. In this way, we enable the public to be workers’ allies in the fight for a fairer gig economy.
Greater awareness of the precarious conditions of workers in platform-based employment is still needed. Fairwork South Africa intends to contribute to this project tirelessly to help bring hope to the workers.
Pitso Tsibolane, senior lecturer and co-principal investigator for the Fairwork Foundation in South Africa at the Centre for Information Technology and National Development in Africa (CITANDA), University of Cape Town.
About the research: The findings are based on desk research and interviews with platform workers and managers in South Africa, between August 2021 and August 2022. The report will be available on https://fair.work/sa, along with previous Fairwork South Africa reports.
[1] https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=15728
[2] https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=15690
[3] https://www.gov.za/speeches/kwazulu-natal-provides-update-latest-storms-and-floods-23-may-2022-0000
[4]https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w21906/w21906.pdf
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