The right to fair working conditions and social protection for workers of digital labor platforms through the prism of international legal standards

Platform-mediated work is a source of livelihood for millions of workers. However, platforms, as a rule, in most countries, exclude workers from the scope of labor rights, classifying them as “independent contractors”, shifting various risks and costs onto them. This negatively affects labor standards not only for platform workers, but also for workers of competing enterprises. It is noted that digital labor platforms, as intermediaries of work, are growing rapidly, changing the sustainable way of organizing work, influencing the economic sector, adapting enterprises to new changes, new forms of competition. The growth of digital labor platforms creates additional opportunities for income generation, but the labor of workers mediated through such platforms continues to face various challenges. Labor law in most countries traditionally provides for a dual division between independent contractors, who can assume the risks of their own enterprises and are not subject to labor law, and employees, who are subject to labor law, employment guarantees, including the employer’s control over their work, and the employee’s subordination and dependence on the employer. These factors are often used as markers to determine the boundary between employees and independent contractors (self-employed workers). It is noted that platform work, like many other forms of work and employment, does not fit this binary division. The blurring of boundaries is exacerbated by the fragmentation of relationships between different actors mediated by the platform. It is argued that states, by adopting relevant legislative acts, must create legal obligations regarding platforms, regardless of the legal status of a person («their contract status»), their employment. What is important is that it performs work and provides services in order to produce material goods and satisfy consumer needs. Accordingly, any work, as socially beneficial, must meet the criteria and principles of decent work, protection of collective and individual interests, and social security of the economically active population.