Alliance Party Condemns Government’s Vote Against Gig Worker Protections
The Alliance Party has condemned the Government’s decision to vote against baseline international protections for gig workers, warning that it represents a callous disregard for fairness, worker security, and basic rights in Aotearoa New Zealand’s labour market.
Alliance Party candidate for Ilam, Courtney Fraser, says the Government’s stance leaves thousands of vulnerable working people exposed to exploitation in an increasingly precarious, unregulated economy.
“While traditional employees are guaranteed a minimum wage and basic entitlements, thousands of New Zealanders are being forced into insecure gig work with absolutely no structural protections. With unemployment climbing to 5.3%, more people are being left with no choice but to take up work that offers zero stability and zero rights,” says Ms Fraser.
Ms Fraser, a gig worker and full-time student, says the Government’s opposition to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention reveals a clear anti-worker agenda.
“I fell into part-time gig work to make ends meet alongside full-time study after being made redundant earlier this year. I know firsthand what it means to be in a precarious position, completely at the mercy of platform corporations just to secure the mahi needed to survive.”
She says the daily reality for platform workers is one of systemic exploitation and constant anxiety.
“The gig economy relies on treating human beings as disposable arms and legs for corporate profit. It is incredibly stressful to live with that level of job insecurity. The absolute least the Government could do is step up and enforce basic legal obligations and protections for platform workers.”
Ms Fraser notes that New Zealand’s vote against the convention places it shamefully out of step with global efforts to establish minimum employment standards.
“Aotearoa New Zealand was one of only eight countries in the entire world to vote against this convention, and it was already a heavily compromised, watered-down agreement. The fact that this Government rejected even the most modest baseline safeguards is an international embarrassment.”
The ILO convention would have established foundational regulations, including health and safety protections, transparency around corporate algorithmic management, protection from arbitrary account deactivation, and strict measures against child labour.
“Instead of backing these minimal global standards, the Government has chosen to turn its back on working people who are already being crushed by a severe cost-of-living crisis,” says Ms Fraser.
“Gig workers are essential to the modern economy, delivering food, driving passengers, and keeping cities running, yet they are denied the protections that previous generations fought hard to secure.”
The Alliance Party is calling on the Government to reverse its position, ratify the convention, and intervene in the labour market to lift standards for all workers across the board.
“Workers need fairness, collective security, and dignity at work. This issue cuts to the heart of what the Alliance stands for, a country that works for working people.”
