Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy

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Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
Fairwork Chile
      2021 Ratings:
Labour Standards in
   the Gig Economy
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
2     |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

Executive Summary
Latin America has been at the centre of recent debates about the
precarious and unfair conditions of workers in the platform economy. The
Fairwork project is now present in five Latin American countries—Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil. This report on Chile presents
the second set of Fairwork ratings for the region, following the 2021 report
on Ecuador. For this report, seven of the most prominent platforms in
Chile—Uber, Uber Eats, Cabify, Rappi, Pedidos Ya, and DiDi—were evaluated
against the five global principles of Fairwork.

    The gig economy in Chile has been           promise of managing your own time,          regulate these applications and grant
    slowly consolidating, with early            at your own pace, and being your own        rights to gig workers—a need that has
    adoption of transportation apps             boss — presented as an advantage to         become especially pressing in the
    (Uber and Cabify), followed by              workers — gig work also brings with         context of the pandemic, which has
    delivery for restaurants (Pedidos Ya,       it various forms of precariousness,         exposed gig workers to new risks.
    Rappi), and groceries (Cornershop, a        exhausting shifts, exposure to risks,
    Chilean-designed app that operates          and few labour protections. Users, for      In Chile, as in many other countries,
    internationally and was recently            their part, may not see or understand       the pandemic has deepened existing
    acquired by Uber). The economic             these risks clearly, since they value the   inequalities, especially for women
    effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in         convenience, speed, and low prices of       and migrants, who suffer greater
    Chile have encouraged thousands of          these platforms.                            vulnerabilities. Moreover, the economic
    formal workers to join the gig economy.                                                 recession, with the associated loss
    Demand from consumers has also              In this context, the public agenda          of work and salary cuts, has forced
    increased, with many businesses,            has begun to focus on the precarious        migrant workers to work more hours
    especially restaurants, having to close     working conditions faced by gig             on the platforms, especially given their
    their doors during the pandemic. At the     workers, including the unequal access       uncertain (or worse, undocumented)
    time of writing, there are approximately    to safety and health protection tools       immigration status, and lack of access
    15,000 app delivery drivers and             during the pandemic, and the lack of        to public health coverage, often due
    200,000 ride-hailers in Chile. However,     financial compensation when workers         to a fear of being deported. Although
    there are no reliable statistics to         were unable to work. The Chilean case       worsening economic conditions are of
    measure the size of this market. This       is no exception. This report explores       concern to platforms, they are a real
    report invites local authorities, such as   the working conditions in the local gig     threat to workers, who bear most of
    the National Statistics Institute-INE,      economy to contribute to improving the      the risks of the work. The asymmetry of
    to include the gig economy labor force      standards for those who participate in      risk between workers and the platform
    in the country’s official employment        this market.                                has been exacerbated during the
    measures, to have certainty of the size                                                 pandemic; it is, therefore, crucial that
                                                The legal status of gig workers, the        Chile’s government further regulates
    of this market.
                                                relationship between worker and             this market to guarantee fair labour
    The growth of digital work platforms        platform, and the inadequacy of current     conditions and basic protections for gig
    has been highly favoured by structural      regulations is currently the subject of     workers.
    conditions in Chile: a liberal economic     debate among legal practitioners and
    history, high internet penetration, and     political actors in Chile. By blurring      Overall, our ratings reflect that there
    a significant flow of migrant labour.       the distinction between independent         is much to be done to ensure fairness
    Since the turn of the century, Chile has    and subordinate work, gig work              in Chile’s emerging platform economy.
    enjoyed one of the highest levels of        creates tensions with traditional legal     The results demonstrate the need
    internet penetration in Latin America.      frameworks, and the legal system has        to gather more, and increase the
    This has favoured the rise of the gig       been forced to question the tools at        transparency of, information on this
    economy, with more jobs, flexibility and    its disposal. There are currently at        market - its functions, its size, the
    independence. Notwithstanding, the          least three legislative bills looking to    income generated by its workers,
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |               3

and the labour trajectories of those            pandemic (such as the provision      of workers’ organizations to
who are part of it. Our findings call for       of masks and gel), only four were    generate agreements and review
urgent regulation that fits the size and        found to provide some form of        existing working conditions.
relevance of this burgeoning market,            financial support in cases where     While there are associations of
and that addresses its particularities.         workers contracted the disease.      ride-hailing drivers and delivery
We call on regulators, platforms,               Greater efforts are required in      riders, they are not formally
workers, and consumers to use this              this area to match the risks faced   recognized by the platforms.
information to rethink the organization         by delivery workers and drivers in   This leaves gig workers in Chile
and functioning of this market. This            the course of their work.            without mechanisms of formal
is especially relevant in the context                                                representation or opportunities to
of the COVID-19 pandemic, where             �   Fair contracts: All agreements       either cooperate with each other
unemployment and the economic                   classify workers as independent      or to influence decisions that
needs of millions of workers demands            contractors, either through an       impact the process of work.
a re-imagining of a fairer gig economy          explicit clause on their contract
for everyone.                                   (which normally includes a
                                                statement denying any type
This report is the result of a one-year         of regulation by labour law) or
pilot project in Chile. It establishes a        through the general framing of
baseline on the current situation of            the clauses drafted. As a general
the country’s platform economy that             rule, the contracts or terms
will be updated on a yearly basis. By           and conditions drafted by the
raising awareness of the conditions             companies were found to be
of gig workers in Chile and across              easily accessible to workers,
Latin America, Fairwork aims to assist          both in terms of terminology and
workers, consumers and regulators in            language, even though certain
making platforms accountable for their          clauses were drafted in technical
practices.                                      legal language. However, with
                                                the exception of one company
Key findings                                    (Cornershop), we could not find
                                                any instance in which platforms
�     The ratings achieved by the               cannot unilaterally make changes
      platforms operating in Chile are          to their terms, with differences
      very low, with no platform scoring        regarding the manner of notifying
      more than two points out of ten.          and enforcing such changes.
      Uber, Cornershop, Cabify, Pedidos
      Ya, and Uber Eats all scored two      �   Fair management: Only three
      points, Rappi and DiDi scored             of the seven platforms could
      one.                                      be evidenced to have clear
                                                communication channels with
�     Fair Pay: Workers were found to           their workers, through the
      earn above the local minimum              chat or other communication
      wage (in Chile, $326,500 pesos            systems in the applications
      for a 45-hour workweek) before            themselves. There is no fluid and
      costs are considered. However,            direct contact with managers
      none of the platforms was able to         or executives, and in most of
      evidence that they pay a fair wage        the platforms, once workers are
      after accounting for workers’             deactivated from the platform,
      expenses, such as gasoline,               they cannot appeal a decision.
      and depreciation of the car,              We could not find any information
      motorcycle or bicycle.                    on the use of data and personal
                                                information of workers by the
�     Fair Conditions: No platform              platforms.
      was able to provide evidence of
      concrete and consistent policies      �   Fair Representation: The
      aimed at protecting workers from          principle of fair representation
      any task-specific risks. Although         was not achieved by any of the
      all seven of the platforms we             platforms we analyzed. None
      analyzed implemented measures             of them was found to recognize
      from the beginning of the                 or facilitate the existence
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
4    |    Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

    Fairwork Chile 2021 Scores*

         Cabify                2

         Cornershop            2   3

         Pedidos Ya            2

         Uber                  2

         Uber Eats             2

         Didi        1

         Rappi       1

     * Scores are out of 10.
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                    5

Editorial:

Why study the gig
economy in Chile? An
introduction to the
Fairwork project
Among its many consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced our
relationships with digital technologies, at the same time forcing a change in
our habits and forms of consumption from supermarkets, restaurants, and
clothing stores. In this process of change, delivery and digital gig workers have
been fundamental in consolidating an emerging market for goods and services
mediated and organized by digital applications—namely the “gig” economy.

 The gig economy is a labor market             fragmentation of work, where different     20% in the case of Pedidos Ya, and
 characterized by worker independence,         costs are being transferred from           78% in the case of Cabify (Bohle,
 where the supply of and demand for            company to worker.5                        2020). Demand from consumers has
 labor is organized through a digital                                                     also increased, with many businesses,
 algorithmic infrastructure. There is a        The gig economy in Chile has been          especially restaurants, having to close
 “labor–capital” relationship between          slowly consolidating, with early           their doors during the pandemic.
 worker and digital platform: the latter       adoption through transportation            At the time of writing, there are
 mediates the supply of labor and the          apps (Uber and Cabify), followed by        approximately 15,000 app delivery
 demand for professional services,             delivery for restaurants (Pedidos Ya,      drivers and 200,000 ride-hailers in
 operating as an intermediary, or              Rappi) and groceries (Cornershop, a        Chile (Bohle, 2020; Comisión Nacional
 “ghost employer”.1 Indeed, there are          Chilean-designed app that operates         de Productividad, 2019).
 tens of millions of people globally           internationally and was recently
 who work in the gig economy.2 Global          acquired by Uber). The economic            In this context, the public agenda
 applications like Uber have become            effects of the pandemic in Chile has       has begun to focus on the precarious
 a source of work for those who have           encouraged thousands of formal             working conditions faced by gig
 been left out of the traditional formal       market workers to integrate into           workers, including unequal access
 labor market.3 However, contrary to           the gig economy. According to the          to safety and health protection tools
 the promises disclosed by economists          National Institute of Statistics (INE),    during the pandemic, and a lack of
 and management experts regarding the          unemployment reached 13% for May           financial compensation when unable
 possibilities of labor flexibility,4 recent   – July 2020 and 10% for November–          to work. The Chilean case is no
 sociology and economic geography              January (2020-2021) (INE, 2021). At        exception. This report explores gig
 studies in the US and UK have warned          the same time, a recent media article      economy working conditions in order
 of increasing precariousness and              titled as “historic” the increase in the   to contribute to improved standards for
                                               number of delivery workers, reaching       those who participate in this market.
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
6     |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

    Alongside reports from India and South      depend on the willingness of platforms
    Africa (2019, 2020), Germany (2020),        to participate.
    Ecuador (2021) and the UK (2021)
    the Fairwork project is beginning to        The results demonstrate the need
    conduct South American country              to gather and increase transparency
    case studies in Argentina, Brazil,          of information on this market and
    Colombia, and Chile. The School of          its functions, its size, the income
    Communications and Journalism at            generated by its workers, and the labor
    the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez has           trajectories of those who are part of it.
    worked with the Oxford Internet             Our findings call for urgent regulation
    Institute (University of Oxford)            that fits the size and relevance of this
    and the University of Cape Town to          burgeoning market, and that addresses
    implement the Fairwork methodology          its particularities. We call on regulators,
    in order to assess working conditions       platforms, workers, and consumers
    in the Chilean gig economy and make         to use this information to rethink the
    suggestions for improvement.                organization and functioning of this
                                                market. This is especially so in the
    The analysis presented in this report       context of the COVID-19 pandemic,
    is based on five basic principles of        where unemployment and the
    fair work in the gig economy: fair pay,     economic needs of millions of workers
    fair conditions, fair contracts, fair       require a re-imagining for a fairer gig
    management, and fair representation.        economy for everyone.
    Each principle is divided into two sub-
    principles, which together total ten
    points. We award one point when we
    find that basic conditions are met and
    an extra point when more advanced
    standards are achieved. The first two
    principles refer to whether workers
    receive fair pay for their work and
    whether their jobs are characterized by    “At the time of
    healthy and safe working conditions.
    The second three focus on whether
                                               writing, there are
    the platform has engaged in fair           approximately
    contractual agreements with workers;
    whether workers are aware of               15,000 app delivery
    these conditions; whether there are
    transparent management processes           drivers and 200,000
    and communication channels
    between the parties; and whether
                                               ride-hailers in
    workers are able to express their          Chile.”
    demands collectively through different
    representation mechanisms.

    The evidence we gathered included
    desk research, interviews with
    workers in Chile, a workshop with
    different actors in the gig economy
    (platform representatives, workers, and
    policymakers), and semi-structured
    interviews with platform managers. We
    recognize that it is difficult to obtain
    reliable information due to the dynamic
    nature of this economy, and the
    confidentiality of the data. Therefore,
    we only award a point when there is
    clear and sufficient evidence to support
    the fulfillment of a principle. In other
    words, our research strategy does not
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |    7

                      Contents
                      02    Executive Summary

                      05    Editorial

                      08    The Fairwork Framework

                      10    Overview of the Gig Economy in Chile

                      13    The Legal Context

                      15    Fairwork Scores

                      17    Platform in Focus: Cornershop

                      18    Workers’ Stories

                      20    Theme in Focus: The other front-line:
                            COVID-19 and gig workers in Chile

                      21    Impact and Next Steps

                      23    Appendix I: Fairwork Scoring System

                      28    Credits and Funding

                      29    Endnotes

Arturo Arriagada
Macarena Bonhomme
Jorge Leyton
Francisco Ibáñez

Fairwork Chile Team
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
8     |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

                                                                           01            The five
                                                                                         principles

                                                                           Fair Pay
                                                                           Workers, irrespective of their
                                                                           employment classification, should earn
                                                                           the mandated minimum wage in their
                                                                           home jurisdiction after taking account
                                                                           of work-related costs.

                                                                           Fair Conditions
                                                                           Platforms should have policies in place
                                                                           to protect workers from risks arising
                                                                           from the processes of work, and should
                                                                           take proactive measures to protect

The
                                                                           and promote the health and safety of
                                                                           workers.

Fairwork
                                                                           Fair Contracts
                                                                           Terms and conditions should
                                                                           be accessible, readble and
                                                                           comprehensible. The party contracting

Framework
                                                                           with the worker must be subject to
                                                                           local law and must be identified in the
                                                                           contract. If workers are genuinely self-
                                                                           employed, the terms of service must
                                                                           be free of clauses which unreasonably
                                                                           exclude liability on the part of the
                                                                           platform.
The Fairwork project evaluates
the working conditions of digital                                          Fair Management
platforms and ranks them on how                                            There should be a documented process
                                                                           through which workers can be heard,
well they do. Ultimately, our goal                                         can appeal decisions affecting them,
                                                                           and be informed of the reasons behind
is to show that better, and fairer                                         those decisions. There must be a
                                                                           clear channel of communication to
jobs are possible in the platform                                          workers involving the ability to appeal

economy.                                                                   management decisions or deactivation.
                                                                           The use of algorithms must be
                                                                           transparent and result in equitable
                                                                           outcomes for workers. There should
    To do this, we use Fairwork’s five principles that digital platforms
                                                                           be an identifiable and documented
    should comply with in order to be considered to be offering ‘fair
                                                                           policy to ensure equity in management
    work’. We score platforms against these principles to show what
                                                                           of workers on a platform (for example,
    the platform economy is, and what it could be. The five Fairwork
                                                                           in the hiring, disciplining, or firing of
    principles were developed in multistakeholder workshops at the
                                                                           workers).
    International Labour Organisation. To ensure that these global
    principles were applicable in the Chilean context, we then revised
    and fine-tuned the criteria for measuring these in consultation        Fair Representation
    with platforms, trade unions, regulators, academics, and labour        Platforms should provide a documented
    lawyers in Santiago.                                                   process through which worker voice
                                                                           can be expressed. Irrespective of their
    Further details on each principle’s thresholds, and the criteria
                                                                           employment classification, workers
    used to assess the collected evidence to score platforms, can
                                                                           should have the right to organise in
    be found in Appendix I.
                                                                           collective bodies, and platforms should
                                                                           be prepared to cooperate and negotiate
                                                                           with them.
Fairwork Chile 2021 Ratings: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                      9

02            Methodology

The Fairwork project uses three approaches
to effectively measure fairness at work.

Desk Research
The process starts with desk research
to ascertain which platforms are
operating in each city, as well as         sample of 6-10 workers interviews
noting the largest and most influential    for each platform. Workers are
ones. This research provides the           approached either through the
overall range of the platforms that are    platform directly or at known worker
ranked, as well as identifying points      meeting points. These interviews
of contact or ways to access workers.      do not aim to build a representative
Desk research also flags any public        sample. They instead seek to
information that could be used to          understand the process of work and
score particular platforms, for instance   the ways it is carried out and managed.
the provision of particular services to    They allow us, for instance, to see
workers, or ongoing disputes.              contracts and learn about platform

                                                                                     03
                                           policies that pertain to workers.

Platform Interviews
                                           The interviews also allow the team
                                           to confirm or refute that policies or
                                                                                                   How we
The second method involves                 practices are really in place on the                    score
approaching platforms for evidence.        platform.
We interview platform managers                                                       Each Fairwork principle is broken
and request evidence for each of the                                                 down into two points: a basic point
Fairwork principles. This provides         Putting it all together                   and a more advanced point that can
insights into the operation and            This threefold approach provides a        only be awarded if the basic point
business model of the platform, while      way to cross-check the claims made        has been fulfilled. Every platform
also opens a dialogue through which        by platforms, while also providing        receives a score out of 10. Platforms
the platform could agree to implement      the opportunity to collect evidence       are only given a point when they
changes based on the principles. In        from multiple sources. Final scores       can satisfactorily demonstrate their
cases where platform managers do not       are collectively decided by the           implementation of the principles.
agree to be interviewed, we limit our      Fairwork team based on all three
scoring strategy to evidence obtained      forms of evidence. The scores are         Failing to achieve a point does not
through desk research and worker           peer-reviewed by the country team,        necessarily mean that a platform
interviews.                                the Oxford team, and two reviewers        does not comply with the principle in
                                           from other Fairwork country teams.        question; it simply means that we were
                                           This provides consistency and rigour      unable to evidence its compliance.
Worker Interviews                          to the scoring process. Points are only
The third method is interviewing                                                     See Appendix I for further details on
                                           awarded if clear evidence exists for
platform workers directly. We aim for a                                              the Fairwork scoring system.
                                           each threshold.
10   |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

Overview
of the gig
economy in
Chile
The growth of digital work platforms has been highly favored by
structural conditions in Chile: a liberal economic history, high
internet penetration, and a significant flow of migrant labor. In
the following section, we will review some of these factors and
the development of the gig economy in the country.

 Chile: favorable                          smartphones and mobile devices              few guarantees from the applications.
                                           accounting for 84.7% of these.7 As          Users, for their part, do not see these
 conditions for the gig                    of June 2019, there were more than          risks clearly, since they value the
 economy                                   25 million active cell phones in the        convenience, speed, and low prices of
                                           country, with 4G connections growing        these platforms.
 Chile underwent a drastic process         more than 20% compared to the
 of economic liberalization during its     same period of 2018.8 Similarly, the        One of the first major platforms in Chile
 military dictatorship in the 1980s,       population has avidly incorporated          was parcel and delivery application
 under the guidance of a group of          new platforms and social media into         Pedidos Ya, present since 2010. While
 young neoliberal economists. Although     their daily lives. In 2008, Chile had       a number of different transportation
 still debated, these policies were at     the most Fotolog accounts worldwide,        and delivery applications gradually
 least partially responsible for the       at 4.8 million; and that same year          entered the market, it was not until
 economic boom following the return of     created more than 4 million new             the arrival of Uber in 2014 that the
 democracy in the 1990s. At that time,     profiles on Facebook.9 This context has     gig economy saw significant growth,
 Chile saw an average GDP growth of        contributed to building the necessary       with Uber alone accounting for more
 over 5% and an increase in access to      devices and user infrastructure for a       than 70,000 “driver partners” and
 credit, with a significant reduction in   digital platform market.                    two million registered users by 2018.
 poverty from 38% in 1990 to 18.8% in                                                  By that same year, there were a
 2003.6                                    This has favored the rise of the gig        total of 200,000 drivers working for
                                           economy, with more jobs, flexibility and    various transportation platforms.10
 Since the turn of the century, Chile      independence. Notwithstanding, the          We include in our research also a
 has had one of the highest levels of      promise of managing your own time,          number of delivery platforms, including
 internet penetration in Latin America.    at your own pace, and being your own        Cornershop, a Chilean–Swedish
 Where in 2009 the penetration rate        boss—presented as an advantage to           development company founded in
 was 13.7 internet connections per         workers—also brings with it various         2015, which found its niche in the
 100 inhabitants, by 2019 this had         forms of precariousness, exhausting         parcel market, especially supermarket
 increased to 116.1 connections, with      shifts, exposure to risky situations, and   shopping. The true reach of these new
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |    11

abriendomundo / Shutterstock.com

platforms is difficult to pinpoint, due to   their own set of rules and qualifications
the difficulty of obtaining data from the    for their drivers, some of them laxer.
companies behind the apps.                   There is a perceived uneven field with
                                             formal workers, especially in the urban
In our research, we examined the             transport sector, where taxi drivers
experience of workers for Uber, Cabify,      have been vocal in manifesting their
DiDi, UberEats, Rappi, Pedidos Ya, and
Cornershop. While these seven apps
                                             discomfort to the point of intimidating     “The promise of
                                             or threatening local platform drivers.
are among the most prominent, there          Demand for more regulation has also         managing your own
are other apps operating in Chile which
may share similar working conditions
                                             come from the gig workers themselves,
                                             especially those in the delivery sector,    time, at your own
and day-to-day problems.                     who have gathered with their bicycles
                                             and backpacks to visibly protest the
                                                                                         pace, and being your
Demands for greater                          precarious situations and risks they        own boss—presented
                                             take,11 even though demonstrations
regulation                                   have cost many their jobs in retaliation    as an advantage to
A large part of the Chilean gig
workforce is vulnerable, and tensions
                                             by the companies.
                                                                                         workers—also brings
between different social groups—for
                                             There are currently at least three bills
                                             looking to regulate these applications      with it various forms
example, local cab drivers intimidating
transportation gig workers—are
                                             and grant rights to gig workers—a need
                                             which has become especially pressing
                                                                                         of precariousness,
exacerbated by a number of factors,
including the lack of regulation for
                                             in the context of the pandemic, during      exhausting shifts,
                                             which gig workers are exposed to new
platforms, the delay in discussions on
the matter, and its effects on the labor
                                             risks.                                      exposure to risky
market.
                                             COVID-19: New                               situations, and few
Demands for greater regulation have
                                             conditions and risks                        guarantees from the
come from competing sectors. For
instance, license fees, tariffs and          The economy has been shaken by              applications. ”
conditions for taxis are determined          the coronavirus and the restrictions it
by the Ministry of Transportation and        imposes, putting several companies
Communication, while platforms have          and the jobs of thousands of people
12    |    Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

 at risk. According to data from a
 longitudinal study by the Pontificia
 Universidad Católica de Chile,12 July
 2020 saw a drop in employment, from
 58.2% to 42.4%, compared to the
 previous year. During this dire time,
 urban mobility platforms like Uber or
 Cabify have had to curtail operations
 during the most stringent stages of
 confinement. This intermittent activity
 has had economic consequences and
 leaves workers uncertain about their
 futures. Meanwhile, delivery platforms
 have provided displaced workers the
 possibility for extra income, and for
 their users the access to some goods
 and services otherwise restricted by
 the stricter lockdown stages.

 Already exposed to the dangers of theft
 and accidents, workers are now further
 at risk of COVID-19 infection as they
 go about their work. In response, some
 platforms have offered to cover the
 cost of disinfectant gel and face masks.
 Despite these new challenges, the new
 surge in demand has seen platforms
 saturated with new workers, many of
 whom are transfers from the formal
 economy.

 Myriam B / Shutterstock.com
 Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                    13

The Legal Context
The legal position of gig work, the relationship between worker and
platform, and the inadequacy of current regulations is currently
the subject of debate among legal practitioners and political actors
in Chile. By blurring the distinction between independent and
subordinate work, gig work creates tensions with traditional legal
frameworks, and the legal system has been forced to question the
tools at its disposal.

 Chile’s labor legislation is built around   any legal challenges to the platforms’      organization. Due to the low monetary
 a binary notion of employment, with         position—with only one lawsuit by an        value of the worker’s claims, this case
 workers being classed as either             Uber driver, which was rejected by          has almost no possibility of review by
 employees or independent contractors.       a lower labor court. However, things        the Supreme Court. Finally, Pedidos
 The former are those who provide            have changed after several worker           Ya has been recently fined by the
 personal services to an employer under      organizations engaged in strikes and        Labor Inspectorate after one of its
 subordination and dependence (article       campaigns, and especially given             riders suffered an accident in the
 3 (b) of the Chilean Labor Code).           the market effects of the COVID-19          city of Puerto Montt.15 Since the fine
 The legal concept of an employment          pandemic. The Riders Unidos Ya              presumes that the rider is an employee,
 agreement (article 7)13 —developed          organization presented two prominent
 by decades of jurisprudence—                lawsuits against PedidosYa, arguing
 represents a dividing line for those        that some members had been
 who are protected under legislation.        dismissed for organizing. These claims
 Traditionally, subordination is the         asked the courts to declare them
 employee’s subjection to employer           employees (and thus provide them
 control, while dependence is related        legal protections). Both cases are
 to a person’s ability to provide for        currently being litigated before labor
 their own livelihood. A worker needs        courts in Santiago.
 to be subjected to both in order to
                                             However, the first judicial decision
                                                                                         “Platform companies
 be considered an employee. Courts
 have developed a series of indices          reclassifying a gig worker as an            classify workers
 (i.e., company uniform, clocking in,        employee came in an apparently
 disciplinary measures for company           minor case decided by a labor court in      as independent
                                             the city of Concepción. In the judge’s
 procedures) to assess complex cases.
 However, they tend to work best with        ruling, the conditions under which the      contractors—as
 “standard” forms of employment.             services were performed amounted to
                                             subordination and dependence; citing
                                                                                         in most countries
 The legal system is thus struggling         elements like the existence of shifts,      where they operate—
 to provide adequate solutions to the        performance rankings, and the use of
 debates mentioned above. Platform           GPS, among others, to conclude that         and have often
 companies classify workers as               subordination and dependence were
 independent contractors—as in most          present in the situation of the rider. On   defended this
 countries where they operate—and
 have often defended this position
                                             January 15, 2021, the Court of Appeals
                                             of Concepción upheld the lower court’s
                                                                                         position both in
 both in courts and public discourse.14      decision, agreeing with the original        courts and public
 Contractual arrangements reflect this,      decision brief, particularly that the
 sometimes explicitly in the Terms and       criteria traditionally used by courts to    discourse.”
 Conditions.                                 identify an employment relationship
                                             does—and should be further adapted
 Until 2020, there had been hardly           to—address new forms of economic
14   |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

 the company has announced that it            of the relationship between platform
 will challenge the fine in the courts.       and worker, however. This work is the
 On May 17, 2021, a Labour Court in           basis of an agreement reached by the
 Santiago decided that a group of riders      government and the senators in the
 form Pedidos Ya were not employees           Work and Pensions Committee, which
 but independent contractors, citing          led to the initial approval of a new
 the lack of fixed working hours and          version of the bill creating a hybrid
 the existence of flexible agreements         scheme distinguishing dependent
 between the parties as reasons to            and independent gig workers. It sets
 reject the suggestion that they worked       a series of rights for each category
 under subordination and dependence.          (in matters like working time and
 This decision will probably be the           data protection, among others) and
 subject of an appeal.                        certain common rights in issues like
                                              the right to organize and collective
 The use of the existing legal provisions     bargaining (without the full protection
 to identify a gig worker as an employee      afforded to other workers). This bill
 raises the question: will new legislation    was recently approved by the Senate
 be required to regulate gig work?            and is currently under discussion in the
 Legislators have attempted to confront       Chamber of Deputies. The government
 these issues, and there are at least         supports the bill, and it has used its
 three major bills under discussion that      constitutional power to give priority to
 relate to specific labor problems. A         its discussion.20
 group of deputies have sought to create
 a special regulation (bulletin Nº12475-      Beyond labor law, a bill regulating
 13) for gig workers within Chile’s Labor     transportation services through
 Code, recognizing them as employees,         platforms (bulletin Nº 11934-15) is
 thus applying the entire set of rights       now in the final stages of the legislative
 and protections afforded to employees,       process. It creates a series of rights
 and providing special norms for specific     for users, and a regulatory framework
 issues like working time and data            on matters like vetting and registering
 protection, among others. The bill was       drivers and tariff settings.
 approved by the Chamber of Deputies
 and is now under discussion in the
 Senate. Another labor reform package
 presented in 2019 (bulletin Nº12618-
 13) proposes to classify gig workers
 as independent contractors while
 recognizing certain rights in matters
 like social security. Controversially, the
 criteria used by the bill to establish the
 independent nature of the relationship
 could, in practice, turn the criteria
 developed by courts on its head.16

 Finally, another bill (bulletin Nº 13496-
 13) looks to create protections for
 gig workers, but does not address
 the nature of the contractual
 arrangements.17 This bill was
 introduced by a group of senators in
 may 2020, and it led to the creation
 of a report, presented in October
 2020, by a working group of senators,
 government officials, and academics,18
 which sketched a series of proposals
 for matters like social security and
 data protection, working time, and
 other working conditions.19 They did
 not reach an agreement on the nature
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |   15

Fairwork Scores
Score (out of 10)*

Cabify                  2

Cornershop              2

 Pedidos Ya              2

Uber                     2

Uber Eats                2

Didi           1

Rappi          1

* The breakdown of scores for individual platforms can be seen at: www.fair.work/ratings
16   |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

 All platforms in Chile for the year 2021   faced by delivery workers and drivers      played by algorithms and the secrecy
 score very low on Fairwork principles,     in the performance of their work.          surrounding their operation makes it
 none of them achieving more than a                                                    difficult for workers to have concrete
 2 out of 10 in the league table. These                                                information on the existence of non-
 results show that very few principles                                                 discriminatory policies.
 of fairness could be evidenced in jobs
 offered by digital platforms in Chile,
 including access to a number of basic
 rights and entitlements. Our results
 highlight the very long way to go before   Fair Contracts
 a fair gig economy is seen in Chile.
                                            As a general rule, the contracts or
                                            terms and conditions drafted by the
                                            companies were found to be easily
                                                                                       Fair Representation
                                            accessible to workers, both in terms       The principle of fair representation was
                                            of terminology and language, even          not achieved by any of the platforms
                                            though certain clauses drafted in          we analyzed. None of them was found
                                            technical legal language. However,         to recognize or facilitate the existence
 Fair Pay                                   with the exception of one company          of workers’ organizations in order
                                            (Cornershop), we could not find any        to generate agreements and review
 Through the evidence gathered, and         instance in which platforms cannot         existing working conditions. Although
 because of the relatively high-cost        unilaterally make changes to their         there are associations of app drivers
 base of most platforms, it could be        terms, with differences regarding the      (Acua Chile, for example) and delivery
 evidenced that workers earn above          manner of notifying and enforcing such     drivers (Riders Unidos Ya Chile), they
 the local minimum wage (in Chile,          changes. Also, all agreements classify     are not formally recognized by the
 $326,500 pesos for a 45-hour work          workers as independent contractors,        platforms. This leaves gig workers in
 week) before costs are considered.         either through an explicit clause (which   Chile without formal representation
 However, none of the platforms were        normally includes a statement denying      mechanisms or instances to either
 able to evidence that they pay a fair      any type of regulation by labor law)       cooperate with each other or to
 wage after accounting for workers’         or through the general framing of the      influence decisions that impact the
 expenses, such as gasoline, and            clauses drafted.                           process of work.
 depreciation of the car, motorcycle or
 bicycle.

                                            Fair management
 Fair conditions                            Only three out of a total of seven
                                            platforms could be evidenced to
 No platform was able to provide            have clear communication channels
 evidence of concrete and consistent        with their workers, through the chat
 policies aimed at protecting               or other communication systems in
 workers from any type of risk in           the applications themselves. There
 the performance of their activities.       is no fluid and direct contact with
 There are policies providing accident      managers or executives and in most
 insurance, although the seven              of the platforms, once workers are
 platforms we analyzed implemented          deactivated from the platform, they
 measures from the beginning of the         cannot appeal a decision. No platform
 pandemic (such as the provision of         was found to have defined policies
 masks and gel), only four were found to    of equity towards its workers, which
 provide some form of financial support     would guarantee, for example, that
 in cases where workers contracted the      some workers are not benefited over
 disease. We could not find evidence        others, for example, when receiving
 that these measures were consistent        requests or orders. We could not
 and broadly reached all workers.           find any information on the use of
 Greater and better efforts are required    data and personal information of
 in this area, consistent with the risks    workers by the platforms. The role
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                     17

Platform in Focus:

Cornershop                                                                                                                Total

          Principle 1:                      Pays at least the local
                                            minimum wage
                                                                                     Pays the local minimum
                                                                                     wage plus costs
                                                                                                                           1
          Fair Pay
                                                                                                                           POINT

          Principle 2:
                                            Mitigates task-specific risks
                                                                                     Actively improves working
                                                                                     conditions
                                                                                                                           0
          Fair Conditions
                                                                                                                          POINTS

                                                                                     The contract genuinely
          Principle 3:                      Clear terms and conditions
                                            are available
                                                                                     reflects the nature of the            1
          Fair Contracts                                                             employment relationship
                                                                                                                           POINT

          Principle 4: Fair                 Provides due process for
                                            decisions affecting workers
                                                                                     There is equity in the
                                                                                     management process
                                                                                                                           0
          Management
                                                                                                                          POINTS

                                                                                     There is a collective body of
                                            Includes freedom of
          Principle 5: Fair
                                            association and worker
                                                                                     workers that is recognised, and
                                                                                     that can undertake collective         0
          Representation                    voice mechanism                                                               POINTS

                                                                                     representation/bargaining

                                                         Cornershop’s overall score                                    02
All platforms in the 2021 Chile league      accepted through the app, Cornershop             workers’ and (like other platforms)
table achieve a very low score, making      offers its shoppers a fee-based                  does not allow for appeals in case of
it impossible to evidence any example       agreement which they must sign in                deactivation.
of best practice. Despite these             person. As expected, Cornershop’s
limitations, we want to present here a      contracts are built on the assumption
platform which, although achieving a        that the shoppers are independent
score of only 2/10, has implemented         contractors and state that labour
a number of working practices which         law is not applicable. Unlike other
contain the seeds of a potentially fairer   platforms, however, Cornershop
working model, bearing in mind that         asks their shoppers to generate a fee
much more still needs to be done to         slip in accordance with tax law. The
consider the work fair. Cornershop is       contract, however, does not specify any
a Chilean digital platform (recently        regulations regarding the company’s
acquired by Uber), which emerged in         rates and payments. Cornershop pays
2015 in Santiago and Mexico City to         its workers according to the deliveries
offer delivery services for supermarket     they make through a payment method
shopping.                                   that considers each product, its weight
                                            and the distance traveled. Therefore,
For the Cornershop workers                  the larger the user’s order and the
interviewed, called “shoppers”,             greater the delivery distance, the
the contract is accessible, simple,         higher the earnings; with workers
written in clear language. While other      usually earning above the minimum
companies operate through looser            wage after costs. Its communication
agreements based on standardized            channel is mostly focused on
terms and conditions that must be           solving users’ problems rather than
18     |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

Workers’ Stories
                     Raul* has a well-calibrated working routine. He      and Uber did not offer a reimbursement. This
                     starts his shift as an Uber driver partner in the    meant he had to stop working and later he had
                     morning, taking a snack with him. He returns         to get into debt to buy another car to resume
      Raúl           home at noon to rest and have lunch. He keeps
                     several items in his car that make it easier for
                                                                          his activities and provide for his family. On
                                                                          weekends, his routine is a bit tougher, as he
     Uber Driver     him to stay out during the long day: a special       extends into the night as long as curfew allows.
                     cover for his seat, a small trash can, and an        He used to work all night, arriving home early in
                     air freshener he likes. After lunch, he rests        the morning to sleep and rest during the day, to
                     for a while longer and goes back to drive until      continue again at night.
                     curfew. Raul has been working for Uber almost
                     since it started operating in Chile. He has done     He previously had other sporadic jobs, even
                     more than 10,000 trips and has an excellent          working abroad for years. Here in Chile, Uber
                     rating (above 4.95), which he says has brought       appeared to be a stable job opportunity. He
                     him benefits: “being an outstanding driver, I get    does recognize certain risks, but he is willing
                     special attention. If I check into the offices, to   to take them in order to have a steady income
                     consult something, they help me right away. I        and ensure some stability when he decides
                     don’t have to wait in line.”                         to retire. He is zealous in his work and is not
                                                                          interested in socializing or organizing with other
                     There are some factors beyond his control            drivers regarding work issues. He prefers not to
                     that keep him permanently vigilant: he has           be part of the WhatsApp or Facebook groups,
                     been involved in several traffic accidents; the      and rather concentrates on his work.
                     inspectors have taken away his car a couple
                     of times; and he recently suffered an armed
                     robbery by two passengers, stealing his car and
*Names have          leaving him in an abandoned spot. Although he
been changed to      received help when his car was towed, he was
protect workers’     unable to do anything about the robbery: his
identities.          private insurance does not cover a work vehicle

                    abriendomundo / Shutterstock.com
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                       19

                   Yenifer* is Venezuelan, with a technical            and backups for herself and her coworkers.
                   education background. She lives with her            She mentions that in some instances, it seems
                   husband, also Venezuelan, and their young son       that the customers have greater credibility
   Yenifer         in downtown Santiago. Both work for Uber Eats,      or priority than the workers do, which she
                   where they distribute their schedules so that       shows with a personal story: “It was 1:30 in
    Uber Eats
                   one can take care of their young son at home.       the morning and I had an order of 4 km and at
       Rider       Because of this, they are comfortable working       1.5 km the tire went flat. They told me I had
                   for delivery platforms, and she considers           two options: either cancel the order or make
                   them a good job opportunity: “Some take it          the delivery on foot. I told him if I cancel it,
                   as a formal job, because that’s what they get,      I will have a debt for the order. He told me
                   because of the schedule. There is no contract.      that nothing was going to be charged and I
                   There is no obligation to work hours or location.   canceled—two days later, they charged me for
                   Wherever you are, you connect.” When joining        the order.” She also mentions that the payment
                   the platform, she didn’t check the terms and        isn’t worth it for long distances in bicycle and
                   conditions thoroughly, but, as a migrant in         there’s no way to know how far she has to ride
                   Chile, she didn’t have much choice and agreed       before taking the order. If she cancels some of
                   to them because she needed to work.                 these long deliveries, she might suffer shadow
                                                                       sanctions, losing visibility for orders via the
                   Both her and her husband have connected             platform.
                   with other migrant workers who also live in
                   downtown Santiago. Together, they cycle to          Sometimes the app assigns her very long
                   the eastern sector of the capital, where most       distance orders, which are not financially
                   of the upper-income households live, and            convenient; however, if she cancels orders,
                   where there is greater demand throughout            even with a fair reason, her visibility on the
                   the day. The platform does not provide any          platform decreases, as does her supply of
                   sort of protective gear for these long rides        orders. These long distances are not easy,
                   besides the reflecting material in her backpack,    so she ends up very tired and suffers from a
                   which she had to pay for. Riding in a group         slight pain in her knee, possibly due to the
                   calms her down, especially on the way back at       incessant pedaling. Despite bad experiences
                   night, when there is more risk of accidents or      with the support system and not having some
                   possible assaults. She comments that she has        insurances from the platform, she continues
                   had situations where a punctured tire has left      to work, relying on her fellow countrymates to
                   her adrift at night, in the middle of an order,     compensate for these drawbacks in her daily
                   so this group of acquaintances can also offer       routine.
                   help. Besides these migrant networks, she
                   isn’t really involvedin any other workers group
                   or union, and she is not aware of any form of
                   organization recognized by the platform.
*Names have
been changed to    While she is grateful for the economic
protect workers’   opportunity that allows her to work for Uber
identities.        Eats, she would like to have more guarantees
20   |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

Theme in Focus:

The other front-line:
COVID-19 and gig
workers in Chile
While workers face the risk of contracting COVID-19 in order to
provide basic supplies to the rest of the population, platforms
have failed to establish effective health or financial protection
measures. The precariousness of gig workers, despite workers
having become essential during periods of lockdown, has
increased: Fairwork reports indicate that about half of gig
workers worldwide have lost their jobs, and the remaining have
lost two-thirds of their average income.21

 Gig work presents a challenge to          “inactive” threatens their scores,          adequate protection. Since platforms
 social distancing. Gig workers have       and consequently, their chances             rely on safety items that can prevent
 direct contact with supermarket           of receiving orders and generating          contagion,24 conflict with workers has
 and restaurant staff as well as final     income. Furthermore, for many,              increased and many have begun to
 customers, and the risk of contracting    especially migrants, this is a primary or   appeal for their rights, bringing cases to
 the virus is thus extremely high. Many    sole income, and they have no access        court to reclassify them as employees.
 platforms have introduced preventive      to any form of income protection.           Although worsening economic
 measures, including contact-free          In Chile, as in many other countries,       conditions are of concern to platforms,
 delivery and guidelines on how to         the pandemic has thus deepened              they are a real threat to workers, who
 deliver to users, such as maintaining a   existing inequalities, especially for       bear most of the risks of the work. The
 distance of two meters, and washing       women and migrants, who suffer              asymmetry of risk between workers
 hands with alcohol gel. However, while    greater vulnerabilities.23 Moreover,        and the platform has been exacerbated
 the workers we spoke to reported that     the economic recession, with the            during the pandemic; it is therefore
 some platforms offered alcohol gel,       associated loss of work and salary          crucial that Chile’s government further
 they also reported that supplies often    cuts, has forced migrant workers to         regulates this market to guarantee gig
 quickly ran out. Others complained        work more hours on the platforms,           workers fair labor conditions and basic
 about recent policies for reimbursing     especially given their uncertain (or        protections.
 the costs of these safety items, such     worse, undocumented) immigration
 as gloves, alcohol-gel, masks, but        status, and lack of access to public
 platforms also stated this was optional   health coverage, often due to fear of
 and disavowed any responsibility.22       being deported.

 Despite the risk, stopping taking         Among the platforms operating in Chile,
 orders is not an option because being     none of them could evidence to provide
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |              21

Impact
and Next Steps
This report is the result of a one-year pilot                    We hope this report will generate
                                                                 an opportunity to continue
project in Ecuador. We have established                          gathering information regarding the
                                                                 characteristics of the gig economy
a baseline on the current situation of the                       in Chile, the working conditions of
                                                                 those who make up this market, and
country’s platform economy that will let                         the possibility of imagining a fairer

us study its development and update our                          gig economy for all workers. A good
                                                                 starting point would be to collect
ratings on an annual basis. As Fairwork’s                        official information from the country’s
                                                                 platforms and institutions in order to
reach and visibility increases, we see four                      understand the size of this market and
                                                                 the income generated by the thousands
avenues for contributing to improvements                         of workers that make it up.

in the conditions faced by Ecuadorian                            In the legal sphere, two initiatives

platform workers.                                                will be of interest. On the judicial
                                                                 front, current litigation in Santiago’s
                                                                 labor courts could provide important
                                                                 changes, considering the number
                                                                 of workers and the issues involved,
                                                                 including employment status,
                                                                 dismissals, collective representation
                                                                 and anti-union practices. It is
                                                                 expected that these cases will reach
                                                                 higher courts, providing more judicial
                                                                 outcomes to follow. Whether courts
                                                                 will follow the lead of the Court of
                                                                 Appeals in Concepción is yet to be
                                                                 seen. In the legislative field, the
                                                                 main discussion revolves around the
                                                                 preferred regulatory approach to the
                                                                 status of gig workers. Senators and the
                                                                 government are reported to be close
                                                                 to an agreement on a hybrid scheme
                                                                 that goes beyond the traditional
                                                                 binary employment approach. This
                      Proyecto                                   new category intends to balance
                      Fairwork                                   the demands for both flexibility and
                                                                 worker protection and may provide an
     Tr rga

                                                       es        adequate answer to the challenges we
       o

                                                      r
       ab ni

                                                   do            have outlined in this report. We should,
         aj zac

                                                i
           ad io

                                                                 however, look at this with a guarded
                                              um
             or ne

                                          n s                    optimism: there is a risk of creating
               es s

                                       Co                        a new set of less protected workers.
                 y

                                                                 A new category for “second-class”
                                                                 workers, may open the door to lowered
                                                                 labor standards, and more precarity
                                                                 and exploitation across different
               Vías de cambio de Fairwork                        sectors.
22     |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

Fairwork’s Principles: Continuous
Worker-guided Evolution
                                                      Fairwork
                                                      Principles

                                             Changes to Principles
                                         (agreed at annual Fairwork symposium that
                                              brings together all country teams)

     Periodic International                Annual Country-level                        Yearly Fieldwork
          Stakeholder                          Stakeholder                             across Fairwork
         Consultations                        Consultations                               Countries
     (involving gig workers’, workers’    (involving gig workers’, workers’           (involving surveys and in-depth
     organisations, cooperatives, etc)    organisations, cooperatives, etc)              interviews of gig workers)

                                          Ongoing Advocacy Efforts
                                         (involving campaigns for worker rights and
                                             support to workers’ organisations)
Labour Standards in the Platform Economy |                   23

Appendix I:

Fairwork Scoring
System
 The five Principles of Fairwork were       each Principle, the scoring system         A platform can therefore receive a
 developed through an extensive             allows one ‘basic point’ to be awarded     maximum Fairwork Score of ten points.
 literature review of published             corresponding to the first threshold,      Fairwork scores are updated on a
 research on job quality, stakeholder       and an additional ‘advanced point’         yearly basis.
 meetings at UNCTAD and the ILO             to be awarded corresponding to the
 in Geneva (involving platform              second threshold (see Table 1). The
 operators, policymakers, trade unions,     advanced point under each Principle
 and academics), and in-country             can only be awarded if the basic point
 stakeholder meetings held in India         for that Principle has been awarded.
 (Bangalore and Ahmedabad), South           The thresholds specify the evidence
 Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg)        required for a platform to receive
 and Germany (Berlin). This document        a given point. Where no verifiable
 explains the Fairwork Scoring System       evidence is available that meets a given
 Each Fairwork Principle is divided         threshold, the platform is not awarded
 into two thresholds. Accordingly, for      that point.

Table 1 Fairwork Scoring System

Principle                                            Basic point              Advanced point                     Total

         Fair Pay                                         1            +               1            =              2

         Fair Conditions                                  1            +               1            =              2

        Fair Contracts                                    1            +               1            =              2

         Fair Management                                  1            +               1            =              2

         Fair Representation                              1            +               1            =              2

                                          Maximum possible Fairwork Score
                                                                                                               10
24     |   Fairwork Chile Ratings 2021

                                                  months.

                                                  Threshold 1.2 – Pays the
                                                  minimum wage plus costs (one
 Principle 1:                                     additional point)                             Principle 2:
 Fair Pay                                         Workers earn at least the local
                                                                                                Fair Conditions
                                                  minimum wage after work-related               Threshold 2.1 – Mitigates task-
 Threshold 1.1 – Pays at least
                                                  costs, or there is a policy which
 the local minimum wage (one                                                                    specific risks (one point)
                                                  requires payment above this level.
 point)                                                                                         There are policies to protect workers
                                                  The threshold for the minimum wage
 Irrespective of the employment status                                                          from risks that arise from the processes
                                                  plus costs varies between different
 of the worker, workers earn at least                                                           of work.
                                                  kinds of platform work. In order to
 a local minimum wage, or there is a              establish a threshold, the platform is        This threshold requires the platform
 policy which requires payment above              asked to provide an estimate for work-        to ensure that there are safe working
 this level.                                      related costs, which are then checked         conditions, and that potential harms
                                                  (by the Fairwork team) through worker         are minimised.30 For 2.1, this means
 The threshold for 1.1 is based on the
                                                  interviews.29 To be awarded this point,       identifying the task-specific risks
 level for a local minimum wage (400
                                                  there must be either:                         for the worker when, for example, a
 USD).25 Workers on the platform must
 earn more than the minimum wage rate                                                           vehicle is used, or there is interaction
                                                  •      A policy that guarantees workers
 in their working time,26 and this can be                                                       with customers. The specific practices
                                                         earn at least the local minimum
 evidenced by either:                                                                           leading to the awarding of this point
                                                         wage plus costs; or
                                                                                                may vary by the type of work and the
 •     A policy that guarantees the               •      Evidence from the platform that        risks involved.
       workers receive at least the local                workers earn at least the local
       minimum wage in their working                                                            To be awarded a point for 2.1, the
                                                         minimum wage plus costs.
       time; or                                                                                 platform must demonstrate that:
                                                  If the platform has completed Table 2,
 •     The provision of summary                                                                 •    There are policies or practices in
                                                  the mean weekly earnings minus the
       statistics of transaction data.                                                               place that protect workers’ health
                                                  estimated work-related costs must be
                                                  above the local minimum wage (see                  and safety from task-specific risks
 In the case of (b), the platform is asked
                                                  Table 2 below).
 to submit a weekly earnings table (see                                                         Threshold 2.2 – Actively
 Table 2) that averages worker earnings                                                         improves working conditions
 and worker hours for any three-month                                                           (one additional point)
 period over the previous twelve

     Table 2 Weekly earnings table

                                                                                      X to
      Weekly earnings                                                      2X
                                                                                    (X+(X/2))

      Active hours less than 40 hours/week (part-time)                     %           %                    %                 %

      Active hours between 40 and 48 hours/week (full-time)                %           %                    %                 %

      Active hours more than 48 hours/week (full-time plus overtime)       %           %                    %                 %

     Note: X = the local minimum wage, calculated at 45 hours per week. This row is filled out by the Fairwork team, before
     submitting it to the platform for completion.28
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