Dennis Zulu | New global standard for decent work in the digital economy

It is now well documented that digital platforms now provide opportunities for the connection of millions of people to work in areas including transportation, short-term accommodation, food delivery, tourism services, online tutoring, consulting, software development, and creative industries, to mention but a few. 

These opportunities have created new income streams, increased labour market flexibility, and have enabled the entry of workers from small island developing states (SIDS) into global markets without the need to leave their countries. According to the Jamaican Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Jamaica now has just over 50,000 workers in what is identified as the digital services sector, formerly referred to as the business process outsourcing sector (BPO). 

Acknowledging the growth of platform economies and their ever-growing contribution to economic growth and the labour markets across the world, member states of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations specialised agency on labour market matters, adopted in June 2026 the world’s first-ever convention on decent work in the platform economy. ILO conventions are designed to set minimum international labour standards for the labour market. 

The adoption of this ILO Convention no. 193 of 2026 marked a defining moment in the evolution of labour rights, as it was a recognition that, despite the rapid change in the nature of work, the principles of fairness, dignity, and protection applied to all workers in all instances.

Why was the adoption of ILO Convention 193 significant for Jamaica and other SIDS as they try to develop digital economies that are both innovative and inclusive?

For Jamaica and other SIDS, having limited domestic markets, being geographically isolated and consistently vulnerable to both natural and man-made shocks, makes efforts to create employment opportunities particularly challenging. The emergence of digital labour platforms has therefore offered opportunities to overcome these constraints by enabling workers to provide services across geographical borders and to participate in what is now a global digital economy. For many Caribbean young people, women and entrepreneurs, the platform economy provides them with opportunities for self-employment and entrepreneurship.

IMPORTANT DEFICIENCIES

It must be noted, however, that this rapid growth in employment opportunities within the digital platform has also revealed important deficiencies with regard to the protection of workers. The main reason for this is that many platform economy workers operate in what is considered to be a grey area between traditional employment and self-employment. As a result, platform workers usually do not benefit from social protection, collective representation, occupational safety and health safeguards and other available mechanisms to challenge unfair treatment. Within the digital platform economies, there is now an increasing practice in the use of algorithms and automated decision-making to decide how work is allocated, monitored and remunerated, with the concerned workers having little information on how these systems operate.

Addressing these issues was the rationale for the adoption of the new ILO Convention 193. For the first time, the international community, including Jamaica and other (SIDS) members of the ILO, agreed on a comprehensive global framework that established minimum labour standards for workers engaged through digital labour platforms. One significant outcome of this convention was its recognition that digital platform workers were entitled to the full range of fundamental principles and rights at work, irrespective of how their employment status was classified under national law.

Some of the protections offered to digital platform workers under this convention included: freedom of association and collective bargaining, protection from forced labour, child labour and discrimination, safeguards against violence and harassment, access to occupational safety and health protections, timely and transparent payment, and social security. Furthermore, measures to ensure that platform workers were correctly identified, in due consideration of the realities of their working relationship rather than contractual labels alone, were incorporated.

The ILO Convention also addresses one of the defining characteristics of the modern platform economy which is the growing use of automated decision-making systems. It prescribed the need for greater transparency in how these systems affect workers, given the fact that algorithms increasingly influence livelihoods, earnings and access to future work.

Why is ILO Convention 193 particularly relevant for Jamaica and, indeed, other SIDS?
BUILDING BLOCKS

The Caribbean region already has in place many of the building blocks for a growing digital services economy. As governments continue to diversify their economies by investing in digital transformation and positioning their economies for future growth, it becomes an imperative to ensure that this growth evolves into decent work opportunities.

It is important to note that ILO Convention 193 was not intended by the ILO member states to limit innovation or indeed discourage digital platforms from operating. On the contrary, it was designed to provide clarity on the protection of platform workers and promoting responsible business practices by establishing internationally agreed labour principles for the sector. It must be emphasised that international labour standards and innovation are mutually reinforcing rather than competing goals, as workers who are protected, fairly compensated and treated tend to be more productive and better able to contribute to a nation’s sustainable development.

Beyond the collective adoption of an ILO convention, it is important to note that their ratification is the prerogative of its individual member states. Decisions to ratify ILO Conventions usually involve dialogue between the tripartite partners, namely government, employers’ and workers’ representative organisations. An agreement among these tripartite partners to ratify the convention will result in an obligation by the member state to align national legislation and practice with its provisions, adapting them to their own legal and institutional contexts. 

For Jamaica and other SIDS, ILO Convention 193 comes at an opportune moment. Across the region, governments have embraced digitalisation not only as a driver of economic diversification, resilience and competitiveness, but also an accelerator to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are emphatic on the need not to leave anyone behind. In this regard, providing protections for platform workers, ILO Convention 193 seeks to ensure that Jamaica and other SIDS benefit from a sector that offers opportunities for the development of resilient digital economies that are productive, competitive and in line with global good practice.

Dennis Zulu is the United Nations resident coordinator in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Bermuda, The Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com