The Alliance Party has condemned the Government’s
decision to vote against baseline international protections
for gig workers, warning that it represents a callous
disregard for fairness, worker security, and basic rights in
Aotearoa New Zealand’s labour market.
Alliance Party
candidate for Ilam, Courtney Fraser, says the Government’s
stance leaves thousands of vulnerable working people exposed
to exploitation in an increasingly precarious, unregulated
economy.
“While traditional employees are guaranteed
a minimum wage and basic entitlements, thousands of New
Zealanders are being forced into insecure gig work with
absolutely no structural protections. With unemployment
climbing to 5.3%, more people are being left with no choice
but to take up work that offers zero stability and zero
rights,” says Ms Fraser.
Ms Fraser, a gig worker and
full-time student, says the Government’s opposition to the
International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Decent Work
in the Platform Economy Convention reveals a clear
anti-worker agenda.
“I fell into part-time gig work
to make ends meet alongside full-time study after being made
redundant earlier this year. I know firsthand what it means
to be in a precarious position, completely at the mercy of
platform corporations just to secure the mahi needed to
survive.”
She says the daily reality for platform
workers is one of systemic exploitation and constant
anxiety.
“The gig economy relies on treating human
beings as disposable arms and legs for corporate profit. It
is incredibly stressful to live with that level of job
insecurity. The absolute least the Government could do is
step up and enforce basic legal obligations and protections
for platform workers.”
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Ms Fraser notes that New
Zealand’s vote against the convention places it shamefully
out of step with global efforts to establish minimum
employment standards.
“Aotearoa New Zealand was one
of only eight countries in the entire world to vote against
this convention, and it was already a heavily compromised,
watered-down agreement. The fact that this Government
rejected even the most modest baseline safeguards is an
international embarrassment.”
The ILO convention
would have established foundational regulations, including
health and safety protections, transparency around corporate
algorithmic management, protection from arbitrary account
deactivation, and strict measures against child
labour.
“Instead of backing these minimal global
standards, the Government has chosen to turn its back on
working people who are already being crushed by a severe
cost-of-living crisis,” says Ms Fraser.
“Gig
workers are essential to the modern economy, delivering
food, driving passengers, and keeping cities running, yet
they are denied the protections that previous generations
fought hard to secure.”
The Alliance Party is
calling on the Government to reverse its position, ratify
the convention, and intervene in the labour market to lift
standards for all workers across the board.
“Workers
need fairness, collective security, and dignity at work.
This issue cuts to the heart of what the Alliance stands
for, a country that works for working
people.”
