South Africa’s gig workers continue to earn insufficient wages and face unfair working conditions, with digital economy firms Uber Eats, Bolt and InDriver scoring the lowest ratings for their working conditions.
This is one of the key findings of a new report, titled “Fairwork South Africa Ratings 2022: Platform work amidst the cost of living crisis”, commissioned by non-profit Fairwork South Africa and conducted by Oxford University in collaboration with the University of Cape Town.
The fourth annual rating of working conditions in the South African platform economy finds that platform workers continue to earn low wages, and are subjected to a lack of benefits and security that should be rightfully afforded to them.
While just over 1% of gig workers or platform workers form part of the South African workforce, the report finds many of these workers face harsh and dangerous conditions while performing their everyday duties.
Gig workers can be described as those performing work for digital platforms like Uber, Bolt, Uber Eats, SweepSouth, M4Jam and food delivery apps such as Mr D Food. The report shines the spotlight on the ever-widening gaps in worker protection, as well as the urgent need for fairer work standards in the South African platform economy.
Thirteen of the most popular platforms in SA were analysed and rated from 0 to 10 according to five principles of fair work (pay, conditions, contracts, management and representation) for this report. This information is combined with data from between six and 10 workers who were interviewed per platform.
The research findings show how platform workers continue to be affected by the lingering economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Regardless of the sector, most platform workers reported transportation costs as the biggest contributor to their work-related expenses.
SweepSouth ranks the highest with seven out of 10 points, followed by getTOD, M4JAM and Mr D Food with six points each. Droppa, InDriver and SecretAgent are at the bottom of the 2022 ranking, mainly because they could not provide evidence that they meet any fair criteria of decent work.
Multinational companies like Uber and Bolt also scored poorly, with two and one points, respectively.
Speaking at a webinar this morning, researcher Pitso Tsibolane explained: “In this post-pandemic era, inflation has been on the increase around the world, with food and energy prices hitting record highs.
“The South African platform economy has not been spared. The low scores for eight of the 13 platforms indicate an urgent need for regulatory reform, monitoring and enforcement.
“At the same time, the positive scores by some of the platforms studied point to the possibility of a better and fairer platform economy. Platform work can also mean decent and fair work.”
As independent contractors, platform workers must cover all costs associated with their work. With rising fuel prices, some workers reported their hourly costs exceeded their estimated hourly pay, and this extreme situation can lead them to accept more risk in their work, notes the report.
When looking at the companies’ fair management approach, seven platforms demonstrated they provide avenues for workers to meaningfully appeal deactivations and other decisions that affect them (getTOD, M4Jam, Mr D Food, NoSweat, SweepSouth, Uber, UberEats).
Threat of crime lingers
Almost half the platform workers interviewed raised safety as one of their main challenges. Delivery and ride-hailing drivers interviewed pointed out that the threat of hijacking and assault was a daily worry – a reality brought into focus recently with the murder of Abongile Mafalala, a ride-hailing driver in Cape Town.
In terms of fair pay, only six platforms could evidence that workers earn at least the minimum wage (R23.19/hour) after costs (getTOD, Kandua, M4Jam, NoSweat, Picup, SweepSouth).
But only four could show evidence that workers earn a living wage (R43/hour). And only three could prove they are transparent about algorithms that determine pay and access to work.
“In order to cover their expenses, many platform workers are forced to work tirelessly and exceed the 45 hours per seven days permitted in the basic conditions section of the Employment Act of South Africa,” asserted Dr Sharon Geeling, from the UCT’s Centre for Information Technology and National Development in Africa.
“When measured for fair conditions, seven platforms were awarded a point for the actions they took to protect their workers from risks that arise in their job.
“However, no platform could satisfy the new labour requirement for measures taken to compensate workers for loss of income through illness, nor have we seen any evidence of documented processes describing the measures taken if workers are not able to work for an extended period, due to some unforeseen circumstances.”
Researchers from Fairwork South Africa are calling for stronger protection and more robust labour standards in the South African platform economy.
Fairwork draws on the expertise and experience of staff at the universities of Oxford, Cape Town, Manchester and Western Cape in evaluating work practices and working conditions on digital labour platforms.
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