改善难民和收容社区使用数字劳动力平台的机会和工作条件的新做法（英）

Emerging Practices to Improve Access to and Working Conditions on Digital Labour Platforms for Refugees and Host Communities

Overview

Online labor platforms have emerged as a new way of organizing work, rapidly expanding across the globe. These platforms have the potential to connect refugees with the global economy, allowing them to make a living and upskill. However, the digital gig economy also presents challenges in terms of adequate access to labor and social protections.

Key Findings

1. Facilitating Access to Work

   • Various organizations provide access to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and devices to connect online.
   • Some platforms streamline the account-opening process by accepting refugee identification documents.
   • Providing incentives to hire from refugee communities enhances access to online work.

2. Reducing Work-Related Risks and Costs

   • Ensuring timely and reliable payments and compliance with existing laws or benchmark practices.
   • Providing access to reliable payment methods using escrow and helping with tax compliance.
   • Financial technology (Fintech) institutions like Payoneer and Wise provide access to financial services for refugees.

3. Improving Working Conditions

   • Setting minimum compensation levels.
   • Providing contracts for each project and written policies on working conditions.
   • Offering various types of insurance.
   • Mediating and resolving disputes.
   • Gathering worker feedback and engaging in collective bargaining.
   • For example, Dükkan has instituted an exploitation prevention system to address freelancer concerns regarding fair wages and low pay.
   • In Kenya, the local I-Workers platform mobilizes online platform workers to organize and collectively negotiate working conditions.

4. Providing Opportunities to Build Skills and Expertise

   • Supporting workers in building their skills and work-related experience.

Conclusion

These emerging practices present a win-win scenario for both the workers from communities affected by forced displacement and the platforms themselves. Platforms can attract socially conscious clients, tap into a larger pool of talent, and benefit from a diverse workforce. Workers from communities affected by forced displacement can help platforms expand the range of services they offer and win new markets, providing a more competitive marketplace and increasing its appeal to clients.

Acknowledgments

This research was prepared under the aegis of the UNDP project "Facilitating Digitally Enabled Livelihoods for Refugee Populations and Host Communities" and the PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund project "Promotion, Inclusion, and Protection of Refugees and Host Communities in the Gig Economy." It was supported financially by the Swiss Development Corporation and the Government of the Netherlands. The report was prepared under the guidance of Yuko Hirose of the UNDP and Zulum Avila of the ILO. It acknowledges the contributions of various organizations, key informants, and individuals involved in surveys and interviews.