ILO adopts Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention 2026 for digital workers
Global standard introduces protections for platform workers, addressing algorithmic control, misclassification and weak social protections in fast-growing digital labour markets.
The International Labour Organization has adopted the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention 2026, creating the first global labour standard specifically focused on work performed through digital labour platforms.
The International Labour Conference adopted the Convention at its 114th session in Geneva. It addresses working conditions in the platform economy, including ride-hailing, delivery, online freelancing, data work and other forms of digitally mediated labour.
The new standard covers several long-standing concerns in platform work, including worker classification, fair remuneration, occupational safety and health, social protection, algorithmic management, data protection and protection against unfair account suspension or deactivation.
The Convention requires governments to take measures to ensure that platform workers are correctly classified according to the way their work is performed, rather than relying solely on contractual labels. It also includes protections linked to automated systems used to monitor, evaluate or make decisions about workers.
Workers should be informed about automated systems affecting their work and have access to explanations and human review of significant automated decisions, including those related to non-payment, suspension, or deactivation.
Labour organisations welcomed the adoption as a milestone for platform workers’ rights, while attention now turns to ratification and national implementation. The Convention will only translate into enforceable protections where governments incorporate its standards into domestic law and practice.
Why does it matter?
The Convention is a major development in global digital labour governance. Platform work has often grown faster than labour law, leaving workers exposed to income instability, opaque algorithmic management, sudden account deactivation and uncertain employment status. By setting an international baseline, the ILO standard gives governments, unions and regulators a reference point for bringing digital platform work within decent work protections. Its impact, however, will depend on ratification, enforcement and how countries translate the standard into national law.
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