WHILE digital platforms provided alternative employment to workers, particularly those affected by the pandemic, these continue to lag behind in providing workers in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector the much-needed social welfare protection, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Citing a previous ILO survey, ILO Social Protection Department Director Shahra Razavi noted that of the 20,000 digital-platform workers from a hundred countries who participated in the study, only 40 percent were covered by health insurance.
Still fewer of them or only about 20 percent have access to employment injury protection, unemployment protection and old-age pension.
She noted that most of these platform employees, who enjoyed such social protection coverage, did so through the contributions they made in their previous jobs or in the case of health insurance, through another family member.
“Basically, what this is saying is that the cost of their coverage is being borne by others, including other employers and taxpayers, while the digital platforms themselves are largely avoiding contributing to the social protection of the workers who are active on their platforms,” Razavi disclosed in ILO’s Future of Work Podcast posted on its website.
Local context
HERE in the Philippines, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued a landmark advisory last year emphasizing that riders of food delivery and courier apps are indeed covered by an employee-employee relationship.
The DOLE noted that such workers should be entitled to social insurance protection such as Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and Pag-IBIG Fund membership.
It came out with the declaration after several riders of food delivery app, Food Panda, sanctioned its riders, who questioned its alleged arbitrary payment scheme last year.
However, National Anti-Poverty Commission-Workers in the Informal Sector Council member Susanita G. Tesiorna noted that such policy pronouncement will only be beneficial if it could be strictly implemented by the labor department.
“If the government is not working on it, it’s not good for the workers,” Tesiorna said.