Decent gig work in Sub Sahara Africa?

Authors/Creators

Desmond Tutu Ayentimi
Hossein Ali Abadi, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
John Burgess

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economies are entrenched in traditional economic and employment structures driven by the informal sector. There is a small and regulated formal sector, built upon public sector employment. Unlike the discussion of gig work in advanced capitalist economies, the development of gig work in SSA is within an environment where employment standards and labour regulations are largely absent. The concern in developed countries is that gig work erodes the norm of regulated employment; in developing economies gig work is part of the norm of informal and unregulated employment. Gig work in SSA offers the potential for formalisation of production and work, new forms of agency, and supporting decent work. However, the challenge is how to realise this potential. The role of platforms in developing and transmitting decent work protocols into gig contracts is discussed as a potential means for supporting decent work in SSA.

RAS ID

45188

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2023

School

School of Business and Law / Centre for Research in Aged Care

Copyright

subscription content

Publisher

Sage

Comments

Ayentimi, D. T., Abadi, H. A., & Burgess, J. (2023). Decent gig work in Sub Sahara Africa?. Journal of Industrial Relations, 65(1).

https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856221111693

Recommended Citation

Ayentimi, D. T., Abadi, H. A., & Burgess, J. (2023). Decent gig work in Sub Sahara Africa?. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856221111693