February 1, 2024
Gig work is widely recognized as having all the characteristics of precarious employment. They are typically temporary, part-time, or temporary, have low wages, have no predictable work hours, and lack job security without health, benefits, or protections.
A study on precarious gig work in B.C. finds that app-based ride-hailing and food delivery gig workers are primarily racialized new immigrants who work overtime or without pay while waiting for travel assignments. It became clear that they were working long hours.
The British Columbia government has announced new legislation, Bill 48, to provide better working conditions and rights for app-based ride-hailing and food delivery gig workers. However, existing British Columbia labor laws do not qualify app-based workers employed by platform companies as “employees” entitled to all rights and protections under British Columbia labor law. The central question was whether it should be classified. Currently, most app-based workers are not afforded these rights and protections, which violates existing laws.
App-based ride-hailing and food delivery gig workers are primarily racialized new immigrants.
In a letter of reference to Labor Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, Prime Minister Eby asked them to develop a precarious work strategy and propose employment standards and other protections specifically relevant to app-based ride-hailing and food delivery drivers. Ta.
Before introducing this law, the government consulted with app-based workers, platform companies, labor organizations, business associations and others for more than two years.
For years, labor organizations and workers' rights advocates have urged the Department of Labor to do more. Investigate employment conditions in the platform company industry and enforce applicable laws. However, the ministry turned a deaf ear to this request without explanation, acknowledging the powerlessness of industry workers.
Bill 48 recognizes employees of online platforms as “employees”; Employment Standards Act (ESA) and Workers' compensation law, which have regulations governing minimum wages, employee expense compensation standards, tip protection, and pay and travel transparency, but these workers are excluded from the benefits of workers in other sectors due to regulatory exclusions. and cannot enjoy all the protection. These include overtime pay, paid statutory leave, paid sick leave, and vacation time. Additionally, these employees are not paid for time worked while logged on and waiting to receive assignments.
As a result, the Secretary of Labor proposes to add app-based gig workers through regulations to the more than 100 occupations that are excluded from all or part of the rights and protections included in the ESA for all workers. are doing.
These workers do not enjoy all the benefits and protections of workers in other sectors.
The current and previous administrations, through regulations, have repeatedly excluded workers, particularly precarious and low-wage workers (such as farm workers and care workers), from the full rights and benefits of the ESA in numerous ways. has long been criticized for doing so. In reality, these regulatory exemptions contribute to job precarity in a wide range of occupations, so the proposal to exclude app-based platform workers from the ESA provisions would perpetuate the precarity of gig work. This contradicts the precarious work strategy. Order of the Ministry of Labor.
Although gig workers receive some benefits from this law, those in precarious jobs may not enjoy all the rights and benefits of gig workers. Employment Standards Act. This has to end.
Topics: Employment and Labor
