The Gig Economy

Woodcock and Graham (2020), who defined the gig economy within the constraints of the

use of technology to access work, indicate that by 2025 up to one-fourth of all workers in the

labor market will have shifted to the digital network. Their analysis of this field extends from a

security and reimbursement perspective, determining the need to comprehend these two issues

given the increased shift of jobs to this type of media. For instance, they noted that the number of

people employed in this economy in the UK at the time of their writing was over 1.1 million,

which is equal to the entire NHS workforce. Their analysis revealed that this type of work

existed at the nexus of the social, technological, and political economies, necessitating the

elaboration of a case in areas like worker protection. This argument was advanced using Uber as

an example to demonstrate how frequently businesses that use the gig economy make money at

the expense of their employees. Inasmuch as Uber driver is in charge of their schedule; they do

not have any worker protections, such as health insurance or injury protection, let alone

contractually guaranteed job security of a salary. More often than not, they receive payment

based on work they perform, which is not independently verified, but rather on the charges set by

organizations like Uber.

A picture of a gig worker who is a person of color, who are more likely to work in this field because of their intersectional disadvantage, and who therefore tend to this kind of work to meet their needs without the protection required.

Using a bicycle for convenience in getting to various locations and as a sustainable and reasonably priced mode of transportation, a Deliveroo delivery person delivers goods to customers. However, because the roads are built for the car, they are not protected, such as with dedicated bicycle lanes.

A freelance journalist with much time on their hand to carry out stories that matter to their society and is not dependent on the mainstream media to point them to a specific story to cover hence transparency.