Exploitation Built into Gig Work: Rethinking Labour, Law and the State’s Responsibility

Exploitation Built into Gig Work: Rethinking Labour, Law and the State’s Responsibility

The article argues that exploitation is structurally embedded in the gig economy, as highlighted by the December 31 strike by platform workers protesting poor working conditions, algorithmic control, and lack of social security. Although the strike failed to disrupt services, it exposed deeper systemic issues that governments globally struggle to address: the ambiguous legal status of gig workers and the refusal of platforms to recognise an employer–employee relationship.

At the core is contractual opacity. Gig workers are treated as “partners” or self-employed, often without clear, comprehensible contracts. This allows corporations to evade labour laws while exercising employer-like control through opaque algorithms that determine wages, incentives, penalties, and even deactivat