A historic milestone for platform workers was reached this year at the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. On 12 June 2026 the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted Convention 193 on Decent Work in the Platform Economy.

The Convention is a groundbreaking international treaty which sets legally binding minimum protections for all platform workers across both the formal and informal economies. According to World Bank estimates, between 154 million and 435 million people worldwide were engaged in platform work in 2023. While digital labour platforms have created new income and employment opportunities, they have also exposed many workers to insecure conditions. Key concerns include fair pay, occupational health and safety, job security, and the growing influence of technology on workers’ rights and working conditions.

Amongst the key labour protections outlined in C193 are:

• Fundamental Rights: Guarantees rights to occupational health and safety, freedom from violence and harassment, collective bargaining, and social security.
• Algorithmic Transparency: Requires platforms to provide timely, transparent information regarding pay and remuneration. It also mandates human involvement in automated decision-making and protects worker data.
• Classification: Obliges states to properly classify workers based on the terms of their work and pushes to regularise platform work.
• Occupational Health and Safety: Grants platform workers the right to a safe work environment and the ability to refuse dangerous conditions.
• Freedom of Association: Secures the right to organise, bargain collectively, and access social security.

The road to Convention No. 193 began in 2023, when the ILO Governing Body agreed to place decent work in the platform economy on the agenda of the International Labour Conference. After two years of negotiations between governments, workers’ representatives, NGOs, trade unions and employers, delegates adopted the Convention at the International Labour Conference.

Governments need to ratify

Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) played a vital role alongside worker coalitions in the adoption of C193, working to ensure the treaty recognises the rights of gig workers and addresses the specific vulnerabilities of those in the informal economy.

“What this Convention does is, for the first time it recognises platform work as work, and workers as deserving of rights and protections regardless of how they engage with platforms,”  said Salonie Hiriyur, Digitalisation and  Platformisation Specialist, WIEGO.

“While this is a very crucial and important Convention, the fight is of course not over. As workers we will have to push our member states, our governments to ratify… and create national policies and regulations that respond to specific contexts and improve the lives of workers,” she said.

The adoption of Convention 193 is only the beginning of the process. Over the next 12 to 18 months, countries will decide whether to ratify the Convention.

Following that, the next challenge will be turning its principles into effective national legislation, regulations and enforcement mechanisms.

While implementation may differ from one country to another, the ultimate measure of success will be whether these commitments lead to tangible improvements in the daily working lives of platform workers.