Executive Summary

Digital transformation has generated new forms of work and innovative ways of organising work. One of its main features is the emergence of web-based, cross-border digital labour platforms. The COVID-19 pandemic is expanding and accelerating cross-border, web-based digital labour, or online freelance labour, with the rapid use of digital labour platforms. This trend is likely to lead to an increase in demand for hiring remote freelancers. Building on the author’s ongoing study on the rights-based approach to governing online freelance labour, this report offers key recommendations on labour rights and social protection, with a special focus on web-based, online freelance workers from Southeast Asia. It utilises preliminary findings elaborated by the author in NTS Insight No. IN21-01, titled “A Rights-Based Approach to Governing Online Freelance Labour: Towards Decent Work in Digital Labour Platforms”, to accentuate possible areas of action by Southeast Asian countries to promote rights and social protection for their workers who are engaged in web-based digital freelance labour.

Source: ILO Asia-Pacific under creative commons license