Sri Lanka must protect its gig workers through collaboration among labour authorities, platform companies, workers and rights groups as the International Labour Organisation prepares to adopt the first global standard governing platform work, the Centre for a Smart Future (CSF) said on Monday.
The 114th Session of the ILO, running in Geneva from June 1 to 12, will hold a second and near-final discussion on a draft Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy. If adopted, it will become the first international standard governing the conditions under which ride-hailing drivers, delivery riders and digital freelancers work — applicable to platforms like Uber and PickMe that have grown sharply in Sri Lanka since the 2022 economic crisis. Sri Lanka confirmed last week that Labour Secretary L.K. Jayasinghe is leading the delegation.
“The goal is not to formalise gig work in ways that fully eliminate its distinctive character and the opportunities it affords, but to ensure that flexibility does not become a cover for the absence of any protection at all,” CSF said in a statement reproduced by EconomyNext.
The think tank set out six policy considerations. Informal employment already accounts for 56.9% of total employment in Sri Lanka (DCS 2025), with 45.9% in non-agricultural jobs — so platforms have entered a labour market with weak baseline protection. A CSF study found 75% of interviewed gig workers operate on platforms full-time; a separate Solidarity Centre survey of 100 workers found nearly all worked more than 11 hours a day, and over a third more than 16 hours. Some platforms cap drivers at 12 hours a day, while at least one major platform imposes no limit at all — meaning a seven-day week can run to 84 hours, nearly double the 48-hour weekly cap set for factory workers under the Factories Ordinance.
CSF also flagged the absence of occupational safety and health rules for riders working in 36°C outdoor heat, growing demand for algorithmic transparency over how rides are allocated and performance evaluated, climate-adaptation costs borne entirely by workers, and gaps in social protection coverage. Sri Lanka’s 2025 National Social Protection Strategy already names PickMe and Uber as prospective partners for enrolling gig workers — the ILO convention, if adopted, would give that framework an international standard to anchor to.
“A worker should not have to choose between income and working in 36°C outdoor heat with no protective gear. A worker should not lose their livelihood due to an automated and anonymous decision they cannot query or appeal,” CSF said.
Sources: Sri Lanka must shape a fairer deal for gig workers, as ILO standard looms: CSF — EconomyNext.
