Introduction
The rapid digital transformation over the past few decades has expanded job opportunities for individuals seeking freelance work. However, this type of work is not typically sufficient to sustain a living solely through it. Instead, digital platforms have become a means for people to supplement their primary income or find an additional source of revenue, particularly in our region.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) Report
This week, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the “Survey on Digital Platform-Based Work: New Data for the Latin America Region,” revealing that 52% of individuals working through digital platforms do not consider this their primary source of income. These workers often hold formal employment and turn to digital freelancing to augment their resources.
Worker Profile
The ILO report highlights that the typical digital platform worker is urban, young, and well-educated, with an average age of 33 years. Nearly 40% have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Types of Employment
Among those combining activities, 47.5% identify as formal employees, 31% as independent professionals, and 13% as informal workers. This suggests that the digital freelance economy complements traditional employment rather than replacing it, creating new labor dynamics.
Work Hours and Flexibility
The report also notes that the flexible nature of this work can lead to extended working hours, with workers averaging ten hours per day, six and a half days per month, and nearly eleven nights (from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM).
Types of Tasks
The most common tasks for those working through this modality include programming, graphic design, data analysis, translation, and microtasks for training AI systems.
Global vs. Location-based Platforms
Unlike transportation or delivery platforms, these activities are not geolocated; they are entirely online, allowing freelancers to connect with clients worldwide. In Latin America, 90% of those who know their contractors’ locations report that the latter are outside the region, primarily in the United States and Canada.
Policy Challenges
Despite the growth of this work model, it presents significant policy and regulatory challenges. The unclear labor relationship makes accessing rights such as social security or dispute resolution mechanisms difficult.
Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes’ Statement
“The digital platform-based economy is a global phenomenon with local implications. Understanding its impact in Latin America and the Caribbean is crucial to ensure that public policies address the reality of those working in this environment,” said Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes, ILO’s regional director.
Regulatory Hurdles
Several factors complicate the regulation or oversight of digital platforms, some due to platform characteristics and others due to national legislation features.
Transfronterizm and Lack of Formal Contracts
Key barriers include the transfronterizm of the model, where it’s unclear which regulations apply if someone works from Guadalajara for a Canadian company but the platform is registered in Ireland. Additionally, there’s a lack of formal hiring mechanisms and the use of algorithms for task allocation, often acting as virtual supervisors.
Inadequate Legislation
Mexico’s legislation is unprepared for the digital economy, as Carlos Ferran Martínez, a labor law specialist, explains. The Federal Labor Law (LFT) only recognizes traditional employer-employee figures, making its foundational concepts and principles obsolete due to the digital era, AI, and platforms.
Policy Implications
These challenges raise questions for policymaking: Can normative frameworks be created to recognize this work without stifling technological innovation or opportunities? How can social security coverage be extended flexibly for those with multiple income sources? What role should platforms play in protecting workers who generate value through them?
The Present Reality
The digital economy is no longer about the future of work; it’s part of the present. An increasing portion of this present consists of individuals combining formal employment with a second freelance job. Understanding this reality is the first step in crafting labor policies fitting our current times.
