113th Session of the International Labour Conference: A Turning Point for Platform Work?

The 113th session of the International Labour Conference took place from 2-13 June 2025 in Geneva, marking a turning point for platform work. For the first time working conditions in the platform economy were on the agenda of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Once barely recognised as work, platform work has now become a topic whose significance can hardly be overestimated. Many platform workers are visible on the streets, on their bikes, and riding marked vehicles, changing how we experience and navigate the city. Ordering with a click is turning into the new reality of shopping and delivery, revolutionising other services like health and childcare as well. Alongside this, hundreds of millions of workers are working behind their laptop screens, rarely seen as part of this new global workforce connected online by a platform. The latter dictates the rules of engagement, decides the pay, and can unilaterally restrict or even deactivate workers’ accounts.

Thus, making the regulation of platform work and algorithmic management a priority and finding agreement on international standards is much needed to create certainty and protect workers in the digital age. The significance of a potential convention reaches beyond platform work and has implications for us all, as we experience the impact of digitisation seeping into our everyday work lives.

The conference has laid the groundwork for an international convention, to be complemented by recommendations aimed at raising standards across the sector.  This outcome represents a significant victory for workers as it allows harmonising and improving regulation globally and introducing safeguards. This victory is, however, an incomplete one as of now, as the precise terms of the convention remain subject to negotiation. Although the current draft addresses several important issues, it notably omits provisions relating to minimum wage, effective control and concrete suggestions relating to social security coverage in its core text. These gaps must be addressed to ensure comprehensive protection for platform workers. The potential economic and social impact of stronger international standards cannot be overstated: better protections would not only contribute to a more sustainable and equitable digital economy but also safeguard livelihoods of millions of people. 

The international community now has a year, until the next session in June 2026, to fulfil its responsibility and elevate standards to effect meaningful change. It is central that governments, trade unions, platform companies, and civil society organisations engage actively in the negotiation process.  

Member states can also take concrete steps such as promoting transparency and improving working conditions based on the real evidence through projects like Fairwork , supporting workers through tailored interventions and upskilling offers (see atingi ), raising the remuneration and strive to reach the living wage, and piloting innovative regulatory approaches, for instance, for algorithmic management, even before the adoption of the convention.

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