Documents Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society 2 results

"Research on platform work has primarily focused on analyzing how algorith-mic management influences working conditions by empowering platforms to govern digitally-delivered services. However, prior research has overlooked the crucial aspect of how algorithmic management underlies platforms' use of diverse contractual forms of employment available in the labor markets from where they source their workforces. Bridging this gap is vital to understand-ing how labor platforms integrate algorithm management, which employs digitally programmed procedures for coordinating and governing labor input, with various contractual employment structures influenced by regulations and collective actors such as trade unions. Coined as algorithm governance, this phenomenon represents the fusion of algorithm management with contractual employment frameworks, emanating from labor market regulations and poli-cies. This essay pioneers the concept of algorithm governance, illuminating its ontological capacity to enrich debates on algorithm management. Algorithm governance thus explains how algorithm management intricately shapes work-ing conditions by influencing the use of diverse contractual employment forms within the labor market."

"Platform-mediated work is a source of livelihood for millions of workers worldwide. However, because platforms typically classify workers as ‘independent contractors', those workers are generally excluded from the scope of labor rights. This has a corrosive effect on working standards of platform workers, creating the need for an international regulatory framework to prevent a race to the bottom. To address this situation, the article proposes an outline for an International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention for the regulation of platform work going beyond the employee/independent contractor dichotomy. It identifies five core issues in the platform economy – low pay, poor working conditions, inaccessible and unreasonable contracts, unfair management, and a lack of representation – and demonstrates how existing ILO standards could be adapted to address these issues. The proposals are informed by the evidence collected by the Fairwork project through its participatory and multidisciplinary research."