In June 2026, government, employer and worker delegates from 187 Member States will gather at the International Labour Conference to discuss world of work issues.
This annual event is held at the International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, develops international labour standards and sets the broad policies of the ILO.
This year, the 114th session of the ILC, delegates will negotiate a possible international labour standard to promote decent work in the platform economy, and discuss actions the ILO and delegates can take to promote a transformative agenda for gender equality at work and social dialogue and tripartism.
WIEGO will join representatives from platform worker organizations, civil society allies and leaders from the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, the International Domestic Workers Federation, HomeNet International, StreetNet International, and the Self-Employed Women’s Association in the Conference’s committee meetings.
This year, WIEGO’s priority will be providing policy analysis and negotiating support to platform worker organizations participating in the standard-setting discussions, and ensuring the needs of workers in informal employment are well reflected in the discussions on gender equality and social dialogue.
Our call for a stronger ILO Convention for Decent Work in the Platform Economy
The International Labour Organization’s proposed Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy attempts to address the growing gaps in labour protection created by digital labour platforms. The proposed Convention must be strengthened in order to ensure meaningful protections for millions of workers globally.
- The proposed Convention should be universally applicable to all platform workers: This means regardless of whether a worker is in formal or informal employment. It must also include those who fall outside employer-employee relationships, such as own account workers who remain economically dependent on entities that determine their income, access to work and working conditions.
- It must incorporate a commitment to gender equality: The specific risks and vulnerabilities faced by women workers should be addressed throughout all provisions. This will realise the existing ILO principle that all workers should enjoy decent work.
- Worker protections must be comprehensive, inclusive and rights-based: Occupational safety and health protections must extend to all platform workers and include access to services that recognise the psychosocial risks associated with platform work.
- The draft Convention must not defer to national legislation, which often excludes large segments of platform workers, particularly those in informal or non-standard work arrangements. Reliance on national frameworks risks perpetuating these exclusions.
- Guaranteed transparency and accountability in platform governance: Workers need clear, accessible and up-to-date information on how algorithms function, how decisions affecting work allocation and remuneration are made, and how their data is collected, stored, used and governed. Workers must have the right to negotiate collectively on governance decisions.
- Platform companies must bear the costs of working, to cover workers’ operational expenses such as fuel, data and cleaning supplies. They must also be compensated for all working time, including waiting time and time spent being available for work.
WIEGO joins 30 other worker and civil society organizations in calling for workers’ concerns to be integrated into the proposed Convention. The ILO has an opportunity to protect the rights of millions of workers globally, by establishing robust international labour standards for the platform economy. The standards must reinforce fundamental rights at work, while advancing new protections that reflect the realities of platform-mediated labour.
