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The first step is to recognize platform workers as 'employees'
The government and the ruling party are pushing to enact a "Platform Laborer Protection Act" to safeguard gig economy workers' rights. Yet the proposed bill contains many loopholes. Considering that a growing number of jobs are being created in "unconventional labor markets" based on platforms or the shared economy, the bill could end up failing to define so many gig workers as actual "workers." Policymakers and lawmakers should pay more attention to demands from workers and the opinions of experts to define gig workers' status more clearly so as to better protect their rights.
The first problem is that the content of the contracts between employers and gig workers in platform businesses is far from fair. Based on their superior status, the companies tend to arbitrarily decide almost all things, ranging from job assignments to the termination of contracts. The only way for gig workers to fight back against business operators is to quit their jobs. It is therefore understandable that the government and ruling party are moving toward providing safeguards for workers, by enacting protective laws and revising existing ones. The draft bill also deserves a positive evaluation in that it forces platform companies to provide written contracts and to abide by them.
However, neither the new bill nor amendments to present laws can change the unfair reality in which platform businesses unilaterally determine the terms of contracts. The biggest problem of the proposed bills is its failure to recognize gig workers fully as workers or employees, rather than self-employed.
The number of gig workers in Korea totals 1.79 million. Given the expansion of platform businesses accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid technological progress, the gig economy will grow further into a major labor market. However, if the nation fails to recognize platform workers fully as "employees," it will be hard for them to enjoy full labor rights.
