Plans to improve working conditions for people in the capital earning their wages in the gig economy have been set out by Edinburgh City Council.
A task force set up to investigate the "real experiences" of Edinburgh's gig workers – those who are paid per jobs completed rather than hours worked – has reported back to councillors for the first time.
After identifying a slew of issues with the sector, it has suggested a range of measures designed to improve employees' chances of achieving minimum standards for pay and hours and ensure safer working conditions.
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The council estimates that before the pandemic around 23,000 residents in Edinburgh were working in the gig economy at least once a month.
It notes that recent reports suggest the figure "is likely to have risen significantly in the past few years", with the sector growing by a quarter in England and Wales between 2019 and 2021.
Officers on the task force, which was established in November, concluded that while some employees of gig economy firms including Uber and Deliveroo enjoy "flexibility and ease of access to employment", they are also often subject to "low rates of pay, poor income security, risk of in-work poverty, poor opportunities for progression, as well as poor working conditions and worker safety."
A report added: "As such, the sector forms one part of a wider issue of precarious employment in Edinburgh, including zero hours contracts, low paid work, and other forms of work that offer limited rights and protections, or limited opportunity for workers to exercise legally granted workplace rights."
Chris Adams, strategy manager for Edinburgh City Council, said: "We had really good input from the University of Edinburgh, the Gig Workers Observatory and from Unite the union amongst others in there.
"And in particular, the contacts they were able to bring us with workers both in the gig economy specifically but more broadly in precarious work.
"It has been essential to get us to this point as it is something we're keen to continue into the next phase."
In response to the findings, the team has come up with seven recommendations for making employment in Edinburgh's gig economy fairer and more stable.
It urged the council to:
- Further engage with gig economy workers and businesses to develop a "clear charter for what constitutes fair work in Edinburgh, including establishment of fair minimum standards on rates and working conditions in the gig economy".
- Draw up a costed proposal for a dedicated "workers’ hub" in Edinburgh, providing access to advice and support on workers’ rights, representation employability and career progression, as well as language skills and translation support and discrimination and harassment
- Continue to raise awareness on worker rights in Edinburgh, good working practices, and how to access support.
- Further regulate the gig economy to improve pay, health and safety and work conditions.
- Facilitate and host further work with workers, businesses and government on issues relating public sector procurement fair work and the gig economy.
- Hold discussions with employees and businesses on data rights in the gig economy, with the aim of improving understanding of existing rights to access workers' data on trips, earnings, ratings, locations held by companies.
- Look into options for improving the viability of alternative business models for gig economy work in Edinburgh such as worker-owned businesses, co-operative or social enterprise approaches.
The recommendations were passed by members of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee on Thursday (March 24).
They agreed to bring forward a report updating councillors on the progress of delivering the changes in the Autumn.
