Member states of the International Labor Organization (ILO) including the Philippines adopted a new ILO Convention on decent work in the platform economy—the first legally binding global treaty with international standards to protect and promote decent work for gig workers in the platform economy.

This includes workers in the locally-operating ride-hailing and delivery platforms (e.g. Angkas, Grab, Joyride, Move-It, Lalamove, and Foodpanda), care platforms offering cleaning and repair work (e.g. GetKlean or Ayos PH), and cloudwork platforms (e.g. Upwork or Onlinjobs.ph). The Philippine Labor Force Survey 2021 estimated that 1.7 million Filipino gig workers work on online and mobile applications.

Whether the Philippines, the Chair of the Standard-Setting Committee on Decent Work in the Platform Economy at the 113th International Labour Conference in 2025, will ratify the convention, and how the specific provisions will get translated into national policy and effective access to social protection, will be the crucial next question.

The country has embraced the growing platform-based gig economy even as its archipelagic topography renders it among the world's most climate-exposed nations, ranking first in the World Risk Index from 2022 to 2025 due to a dangerous convergence of high exposure, deep social vulnerability, and limited coping and adaptive capacity.

The report presented by the Resilient Platform Work Philippines team on July 8 at DLSU Manila raised important policy concerns and recommendations emerging from their fieldwork across the country at the intersections of platform work and climate change.

The vulnerabilities of working in the platform economy – both because of the material conditions that require them to be on the road and the algorithmic pressures to performance and timeliness– are severely compounded by climate risks, exposing workers to greater health risks, added costs, and financial risks.

As explained by project principal Investigator, Dr. Cheryll Soriano, “Ride-hailing and delivery workers have no choice but to be on the road to deliver their work, and algorithmically-pushed work does not necessarily stop during extreme heat, heavy rains, or flooding. Instead, workers may be attracted to work in light of surge pricing and higher incentives. For remote workers in online freelancing or cloudwork, workers require continued power, reliable internet connectivity, and ample cooling to protect computer equipment, regardless of the weather situation.”

She added that climate change introduces additional financial burdens through gig disruptions, reduced bookings, damaged equipment, vehicle breakdowns, temporary relocation costs, and lost workdays during disasters, aggravating income insecurity. In effect, the shouldering of work-related costs in platform work is magnified by the costs of climate disruption or adaptation. If and when workers choose to turn off their apps or not deliver work on identified deadlines, this choice will have immediate consequences on earnings as well as performance ratings, impacting future gig availability.

She added, “these make the call for specific forms of social protection more urgent than ever.”

In presenting the team’s policy recommendations for social protection, co-investigator and assistant director for Policy and Governance at the Klima Center of the Manila Observatory Atty. Jayvy Gamboa said: “Platform workers face daily accidents that directly pose risks to life and health, and this risk is exacerbated by extreme weather conditions. Addressing protection in relation to accidents is primary and urgent. Platforms that enact full labor control and obtain commissions from gig work must be enjoined to pay meaningful compensation for work-related injuries and accidents. Overall, we must define occupational safety and health standards and safeguards for platform work, as well as work-related injuries, and delineate complementary responsibilities among state agencies, platforms, and customers.”

The report also recommended the following policy reforms towards critical social protection:

Existing social protection systems are designed for the formal sector or are currently set to require an employer-employee relationship for eligibility. There is a need to adapt existing social security and assistance systems to platform work.

For example, PhilHealth YAKAP must be adapted to account for accidents and injuries emerging from platform work. The registration or enrollment must be accessible to workers.

Self-employed contributory mechanisms like the Social Security System (SSS) are organized around workers with more or less stable monthly income. As platform workers have gig-based, irregular earnings that may also be seasonal, it is crucial to consider contributory flexibility for workers. Work-related costs must be factored in determining compensation as the basis for calculating SSS and PhilHealth contributions.

Complementary private social protection must be institutionalized. Platforms must secure health insurance and accident insurance for platform workers. Insurance policies for platform work, such as coverage and timelines for benefit claims, must be regulated. Platform workers may be granted temporary time-off benefits in proportion to their hours worked on a platform.

Need to develop occupational health and safety standards for working in platform-based ride-hailing, delivery, and care work, especially considering climate contexts, that the government and platforms can adopt.

For example, platforms can be enjoined to shoulder basic occupational safety uniform and equipment such as helmets, raincoats (for worker and passenger), boots, or protective bag for parcels or food, at no cost to workers.

There are also important worker-centered platform design imperatives that the government can mandate labor platforms, particularly those that fully intermediate and organize all aspects of the labor process. These include providing transparent weather-related compensation mechanisms, suspending commissions and loan deductions during major disasters, integrating app maps with disaster mapping and improved route-risk advisories, enabling destination-setting so workers can avoid risky areas without penalty, and providing workers with meaningful access to human support and due process.

With a growing number of workers and families depending on platform work, the report pressed on the need to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure (e.g., public shelters, rest stations, flood-resilient roads, and stable power and internet connectivity) into development, climate change, labor, and investment planning. At the local government level, preventive and protective mechanisms include partnering with platforms and merchants for the provision of shelters and toilets where platform workers can safely rest or wait at the onset of heavy rain, extreme heat, or flooding.

These preventive mechanisms can help lessen the exposure of workers to greater risks, one of the critical guarantees of our constitution and the ILO Convention. Heeding these preventive mechanisms can also lessen the need for workers to claim accident insurance.

Currently, many health risks and financial costs are left for workers to bear. The Report raised concerns about how such jobs that expose workers to so much risk and yet without ample protection could exist, especially as we know that the impact of climate change will only worsen in the years to come.

Alongside critical social protection and prevention mechanisms, the Report identified resiliency skills that platform workers need to adapt and diversify amid the challenges of climate change and technological development.

Co-investigator Dr. Jan Bernadas explained the common adaptability skills across work categories that include platform literacy, customer and client communication, climate preparedness, occupational safety, financial management, income tracking, AI and digital literacy, problem-solving, decision-making under uncertainty, account and data security, cybersecurity awareness, emotional resilience, conflict management, and work continuity planning. These skills help workers manage current risks, protect income, reduce harm, and maintain access to platform work.

He also explained the critical diversification skills that help expand workers’ range of options amid the threats of climate change and technological development. These include portfolio-building, professional branding, recognition of prior learning, certification readiness, technical-vocational skills, digital specialization, logistics coordination, care certification, AI operations and data quality skills, entrepreneurship, business development, agency-building, coaching, mentoring, and career transition planning.

"The report identifies the main risks, vulnerabilities, and skills implications across nine work sectors of platform work, namely: virtual assistant; customer service and digital marketing; programming, writing or design; agency and coaching; AI data work; ride-hailing (4W and 2W); delivery (food); delivery (courier and logistics); and care work," said Dr. Bernadas. "Our eight-point recommendations are directed towards practical learning models, accessibility and recognition, safety and institutional links, and digital literacy and livelihood support."

As platform work becomes a continued source of employment opportunity for millions of Filipinos, the Philippine government will have to take these policy interventions more seriously and urgently to protect the growing platform workforce, which can have ripple effects for the families who depend on these workers.