IOSH continues call for platform worker protections

The dual events mark a pivotal moment in ongoing advocacy building IOSH’s sustained focus on gig economy and platform worker rights and protections.

The meetings are the latest in a fresh programme of engagement that began with the publication of the white paper A platform for success: building a better future in the gig economy, on 14 February. This examines the vital intersections of health, safety, and algorithmic systems in platform work environments.

Westminster events

Following the white paper’s release, IOSH sought to inform and influence policy through two UK engagements at Westminster. The first was a roundtable on 07 May, bringing together MPs, researchers and industry experts to examine the regulatory challenges facing platform workers. 

This was followed by a second Westminster event, on Monday 02 June, featuring Minister for Employment Rights Justin Madders MP. He was joined by Sam Carling MP, IOSH Chief Executive Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher, and its Chair, IOSH Vice-President Dr Shaun Lundy. 

The second Westminster panel event gave the Minister and delegates chance to hear the latest research from Dr Oğuz Alyanak from the University of Oxford, Dr Alex J Wood, University of Cambridge and Dr Seemanti Ghosh, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES). 

They also heard from former platform worker James Farrar, who founded and leads Worker Info Exchange (WIE). James won a significant Supreme Court decision against Uber in 2021 that ruled its drivers must be treated as workers rather than as self-employed. Tim Sharp, TUC senior policy officer for employment rights, presented important research and campaigning they’re doing too. 

Justin Madders MP and Sam Carling MP both gave thoughtful, serious responses to each panellist’s evidence and calls for action. They also shared candidly their own experiences of and concerns about gig work and AI with Government undertakings to do more.

Raising the issue in Geneva

In Geneva last week, IOSH Head of Policy and Public Affairs Ruth Wilkinson and Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager Dr Iván Williams Jiménez both presented at the 113th International Labour Conference. The annual conference, attended by over 6,000 delegates, brings together representatives from government, employer, and worker organizations from the ILO's 187 member states.

In IOSH’s capacity as an NGO, at a session of the Committee on Decent Work in the Platform Economy, Dr Williams Jiménez advocated for the adoption of a global standard through an international convention supported by a recommendation, as a baseline level of protection for platform workers, guaranteeing access to essential rights and social security benefits, including health and safety safeguards. 

Then, they gathered other global panellists and stakeholders for an independent IOSH hosted ‘gig economy and AI breakfast reception’. Three distinguished speakers outlined challenges facing gig workers worldwide. Marcelo Caetano, Secretary-General of ISSA, the International Social Security Association, addressed the social protection gaps affecting platform workers.

Professor Seong Kyu Kang, President of ICOH, the International Commission on Occupational Health, provided insights into the occupational health challenges facing this vulnerable workforce. While human rights and advocacy expert Mustafa Qadri, from Equidem, highlighted poor working conditions within the online platform economy, in professions such as data labellers or content moderators. IOSH also presented the findings of our white paper and calls to action to this audience.

The Geneva event attracted attendance from leading organisations championing informal worker rights, including WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) and Anti-Slavery International, demonstrating the broad coalition building around platform worker protection.

The timing of these events coincides with growing political and regulatory attention on gig worker rights across multiple jurisdictions. In the UK, recent legislative developments have begun addressing employment status questions for platform workers. Meanwhile international bodies like the ILO continue examining global standards for this growing workforce segment.

IOSH believes a multi-platform approach, seeking agreements and taking action collectively, stands the best chance of advancing platform worker protection in an increasingly complex digital labour landscape.