We discuss both the abuse and the victories of gig economy workers, as litmus test for a just recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

About this event

The impact of the pandemic on gig economy workers has shown that a just recovery from the pandemic requires both binding frameworks to ensure companies respect human rights, and a rights framework that fits the unique challenges at the intersection of labour rights and technology rights for workers.

This year's Mary Robinson Online Speaker Series will explore the nature of exploitation faced by gig economy workers and the strategies employed to challenge these abuses.

Waves of organising by workers around the globe have won important battles for employment status recognition and investor influence against gig economy giants like Uber and Deliveroo. But these wins come against the odds - technology platform companies continue to capitalise on existing structural power to disadvantage workers, and the governance gap to protect digital rights remains.

New forms of organising and new alliances, including with investors, bring hope. New legal demands offer the prospect of collective digital rights for workers. Continued progress will rely on the establishment of rights frameworks which adequately address the digital risks to workers and ensure collective labour rights for those workers in the gig economy.

Speakers

We are delighted to be joined once again by Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Chair of The Elders) who will host our discussion. She will be joined by a panel of experts including:

• Bama Athreya (Fellow, Just Jobs Network, previously Economic Inequality Fellow, OSF)
• Ruwan Subasinghe (Legal Director, International Transport Federation)
• Thulsi Narayanasamy (Head of Labour Rights, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)
• Vaidehee Sachdev (Social Pillar Lead, Aviva Investors)