The Gig Economy: Mobilizing to Fight Back

The gig economy in Canada has expanded in the past decade, quickly gaining prominence as one of the most damaging labour trends facing Canada’s workforce. A 2019 report by the Bank of Canada found that almost 1/3 of Canadians work precariously – and more so out of necessity rather than choice. 
 

The rise of the gig economy in Canada can be attributed to a combination of factors:

•    Inability to Find Full-Time Work 
Despite an unemployment rate that is at a 40-year low, a majority of Canadians say they still struggle to find full-time jobs. A skills mismatch with industry demand has been blamed as part of the reason for this struggle, in addition to a lack of experience. A lack of full-time work can also be attributed to pensioners remaining in the workforce longer to supplement their incomes. 

•    Rise of the ‘Agile’ Workforce
The modern customer expects goods and services to arrive faster and with more flexibility than ever before, and employers are hiring on a contingent basis to meet these demands; this need for an ‘agile’ workforce is thus resulting in an influx of part-time contract work. 

•    Low Wage Increases & High Inflation Rates 
Wage increases throughout Canada have been stagnant, with inflation increasingly on the rise. Statistics Canada reports that nearly 2/3 of Canadians believe the cost of living in Canada has risen, and bills are becoming more difficult to pay, causing more workers to gravitate towards precarious jobs to supplement their income.
 

•    Economic Insecurity
A survey released in 2018 by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found a widespread sense of economic insecurity amongst Canadian professionals, which has resulted in workers seeking other supplementary employment options as a way to make ends meet.       

The gig economy, however, has not been kind to workers. Couriers who drive for gig platforms, such as Uber or Foodora, are taken advantage of by the employer and are not offered adequate protections. This has led to unions and gig economy workers coming together to find ways to connect and build unity across the industry. Online platforms – like Facebook, Twitter, websites and chat groups – are becoming the core communication tools to connect, fight back and build meaningful movements.
 

Most recently in Canada, UFCW announced that over 300 Uber Black drivers in Toronto would be joining its membership. A historic victory, UFCW is the first union in Canada to organize gig workers. While the union fought hard to achieve this important victory, workers were largely instrumental in kick-starting the organizing process, having recognized the need for a strong collective to uphold their rights and fight for needed worker protections.

Toronto’s Uber drivers aren’t the only gig workers reaching out to unions for support. Foodora’s couriers are actively collaborating with CUPW to gain the support needed to unionize. While backed with support and resources from CUPW, Foodora’s couriers have taken a leadership role in the organizing process, operating as primary spokespersons for the campaign. 

Gig economy workers are mobilizing across the border as well. In New York, a coalition of workers, known as the Independent Drivers Guild (IDG), was able to achieve success with the Machinists Union in building a united front against Uber through the use of text alerts, polls, social media and online chat groups – along with traditional print ads. Not only was the IDG able to convince Uber to recognize and fund the Guild’s existence, it was even able to get Uber to agree to monthly meetings to air drivers’ concerns. Since the time the Guild has been established, it has achieved some historic wins to help improve the lives of app-based drivers.

With workplace protections and rights (historically fought for by the labour movement) already well-established, many business economists and politicians argue that unions are not relevant in today’s workforce. However, the recent uprising of gig worker collectives is proving that not not only are unions important to the modern worker – they are a necessary ingredient to ensuring fair, safe work for all.

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