Co-funded by the European Union

IOE calls for leveraging digital opportunities

  • IOE responds to the recently published ILO World Employment and Social Outlook Report by underlying that digital platforms are important contributors to fostering innovation, reducing unemployment and alleviating poverty.
  • This and other topics will be the subject of a Discussion Forum on 11 March 2021

The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) finds that the just published report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) entitled World Employment and Social Outlook Report (WESO) overlooks the major opportunities digital technologies and connectivity offer to economic growth, the expansion of labour markets and the improvement in the well-being of millions of people.

Despite its limitations, digital advances can offer flexibility to today’s workforce to better reconcile work and family life, more income potential to individuals in vulnerable situations, more opportunities for women; they also encourage entrepreneurship and innovation and offer more accessible openings for quality skilling and upskilling. In addition, they improve service quality and significantly increase the possibilities to transition to formality, among other advantages. As an example of this positive impact, in developing countries, earnings in the app-based taxi and delivery sectors tend to be higher than in the traditional sectors as confirmed in the report itself.

According to IOE Secretary-General Roberto Suárez Santos, “We need to leverage the opportunities the digital era offers while also being committed to addressing the challenges it raises in an honest and realistic manner”.

The main challenge is the lack of internet access by 60% of the people living in developing economies, preventing them from benefiting from the new opportunities created by these advancements. As a matter of urgency, the international community needs to look at ways to address the persistent gap between those able to benefit from the digital age and those left out of it”, concludes R. Suárez Santos.

One of the trends related to digital platform workers that is of concern to employers and promoted in the ILO report is the lack of clarity when classifying them. Governments should avoid a blanket approach for this diverse space - there are different types of business models and different types of workers and individuals using these platforms. Clarity is already being provided by national jurisdictions according to the different nature of the work or service provided.

Adequate regulations and institutions are indeed needed to tackle all the challenges, but caution is also important to avoid hindering fair competition, innovation, and access to the significant potential of digital technologies.

One area entirely absent in the wider debate and the ILO report is how useful the platform economy can be to assisting the 60% of the global population working in the informal sector to formalise or have access to formal income streams.

IOE and the World Employment Confederation (WEC), together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) will held a Discussion Forum on Platform Work on 11 March 2021. IOE is ready to discuss and take joint action on leveraging the opportunities arising from the digital revolution while also addressing the emerging challenges the new era brings with it.