© ILO photo, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Privacy International's response to ILO questionnaire on realizing decent work in the platform economy
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is developing a new legal standard to support decent work in the platform economy. Privacy International has submitted its views on the risks to the privacy, autonomy and decency of workers posed by the use of automated decision-making. This is with the aim of informing the forthcoming discussion on the standard at the 2025 and 2026 International Labour Conferences.
Key advocacy points
- Companies should always clearly explain, in advance, how their automated decision-making systems work
- Both companies and outside researchers should test and audit automated management systems
- It must always be possible for important management decisions to be checked and reviewed by a human
- Workers must always be given timely reasons so they can understand the decisions that affect them
- Data protection rights must be complied with at all times
- All workers - whether in the platform economy or not - should be protected against harms from automated decision-making
Advocacy
Post date
4th September 2024
In January 2024, the ILO published a report, Realizing Decent Work in the Platform Economy, following a decision by the ILO Governing Body that the 2025 and 2026 International Labour Conferences would discuss standard-setting on decent work in the platform economy. The report - and the new ILO standard in development - are of interest to Privacy International because of the impacts on workers' privacy and autonomy that arise from the growing use of invasive surveillance practices and unaccountable automated decision-making in the workplace.
PI believes workers should not have to choose between their privacy and their jobs, and that the development, deployment and maintenance of automated decision-making systems should be strictly regulated. The creation of an international labour standard to support decent work in the platform economy is an opportunity to address these challenges and ensure parity regarding treatment of workers worldwide.
As such, PI has responded to a questionnaire produced by the ILO Office seeking Governments' views on the proposed standard. Our response:
- Identifies the main privacy risks faced by workers in the platform economy, and
- Sets out our views on the safeguards necessary to protect people at work from excessive surveillance and unfair algorithmic management.
More details on these measures and a more precise exposition of PI’s position can be found in our full response to the ILO questionnaire below.
Related learning resources