ILO Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy, 2026: A changemaking blueprint for Bangladesh 

The adoption of the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, 2026 marks a significant global milestone in establishing labour standards for digital labour platforms. It is an achievement of all stakeholders together, where Bangladesh also played an important role. 

The Convention recognises that platform-mediated work is transforming labour markets and creating both opportunities and serious decent-work deficits. Its provisions, which apply to all digital labour platforms and all digital platform workers regardless of employment classification, provide a comprehensive framework for regulating work organised or facilitated through digital technologies. 

The Convention's definitions of digital labour platforms and digital platform workers emphasise factual work relationships rather than contractual labels, a critical shift for countries like Bangladesh, where platforms routinely classify workers as 'partners' or 'independent contractors' to avoid employer obligations. 

Bangladesh's platform economy has expanded rapidly over the past decade, whereby, ride-hailing, food delivery, courier logistics, home services, and micro-tasking platforms have become major sources of income for the urban youth. 

This growth has been accompanied by widespread informality, weak regulatory oversight, and significant power asymmetries between platforms and workers. Fairwork Bangladesh's assessments conducted by DataSense at iSocial, under the auspices of the global Fairwork initiative spearheaded by Oxford Internet Institute, consistently show that no major platform in the country meets even the basic threshold of fair pay. 

Most workers earn below the minimum living wage, after fuel, data, maintenance, and depreciation costs are deducted. Factors such as long work hours, unpaid waiting time, and unstable income driven by vague incentive structures are some of the major challenges that workers frequently report.

Moreover, they experience hazardous conditions, particularly delivery riders, who are prone to road accidents, harassment, and theft, lacking adequate insurance or safety nets. 

Platform workers' contracts are usually unilateral and difficult to understand and platforms retain the right to change terms, commissions, or penalties without consultation. Workers also face sudden deactivation of their services without explanation or recourse, reflecting the absence of due process in algorithmic decision-making. These findings underscore the urgent need for a regulatory framework aligned with the Convention's principles.

The Convention's provisions on fundamental rights at work are directly relevant to Bangladesh's context. It requires Member States to ensure freedom of association, collective bargaining, non-discrimination, and a safe and healthy working environment for all digital platform workers. 

This is vital for Bangladesh, where platform workers' attempts to organise have been sporadic and often discouraged by platforms. The Convention's emphasis on occupational safety and health (OSH) obliges governments and platforms to prevent work-related accidents and diseases, allocate responsibilities clearly, and ensure that workers can leave unsafe situations without retaliation. 

Structured OSH protocols, provision of safety equipment, and accessible reporting and redress mechanisms are therefore some pivotal steps to ensure the safety and rights of Bangladeshi platform workers, especially delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers.

The Convention's guidance on employment classification is one of its most consequential elements for Bangladesh. It requires Member States to ensure the precise classification of digital platform workers based on the facts of work and remuneration, considering the specificities of platform labour. 

This shifts the burden from contractual labels and toward the actual degree of control, dependency, and integration into the platform's business model. Since platforms set prices, allocate tasks, monitor performance, and control access to customers, many workers would likely qualify as employees or at least as dependent contractors. 

The accurate classification would unlock access to minimum wage protections, social security, and other labour rights that are currently denied to platform workers.

The Convention's provisions on remuneration and payment further reinforce the need for reform. It requires timely and full payment of earnings, minimum wage protection for workers in an employment relationship, and compensation for work-related expenses. 

It should be noted that the major share of cost of business is now transferred to gig workers, who come to work with equipment and bear the costs of fuel internet, device, etc. It also encourages Member States to consider extending similar protections to non-employee platform workers. 

This directly addresses the core issues identified by Fairwork Bangladesh, including sub-living wages, unpaid waiting time, and the shifting of operational costs onto workers. Implementing these standards in Bangladesh would require platforms to disclose effective hourly earnings, compensate for fuel and maintenance costs, and ensure that workers' net income does not fall below living wage.

Social security inclusion is another critical area where the Convention provides clear direction. It mandates that digital platform workers must have access to social security on terms no less favourable than other workers with the same employment status. 

Institutionally, Bangladesh would need to strengthen labour inspection and enforcement mechanisms to monitor platform compliance, including through digital audits of pay, working time, and deactivation patterns. It will require improving DIFE's capacity. Social protection systems would need to be expanded to include platform workers, with simplified digital registration and contribution mechanisms. 

In Bangladesh, where social protection coverage is limited even for formal workers, platform workers are almost entirely excluded from health insurance, employment injury benefits, and pensions. 

Extending social protection to platform workers would require innovative financing models, potentially combining contributions from platforms, workers, and the State, and leveraging digital systems for registration and payments.

The Convention's most forward-looking provisions concern the impact of automated systems. 

It requires platforms to inform workers about the use of algorithms in monitoring, evaluating, or making decisions about work, and to explain how these systems affect working conditions and access to work. 

It also mandates responsible use of automated systems, human involvement in significant decisions, and the right of workers to request explanations and reviews of adverse decisions, such as non-payment or deactivation. 

These provisions are particularly relevant in Bangladesh, where algorithmic opacity is a major source for workers' frustrations and vulnerabilities. Workers are often unaware of how ratings, incentives, or task allocation work, and sudden deactivation of their services without explanation is common. 

Thus, implementing the Convention would require platforms to disclose algorithmic factors in comprehensible terms, establish human review mechanisms, and ensure due process in disciplinary steps.

The Convention also includes strong protections for personal data and privacy. In Bangladesh, where data protection laws are still evolving, platform workers currently have little control over their data, and platforms often collect extensive information without transparency or accountability. 

Aligning national law with the Convention would therefore strengthen data governance and protect workers from misuse of their personal information.

The Convention's provisions on deactivation, terms and conditions, and dispute resolution, further highlight the gaps in Bangladesh's current regulatory environment. It prohibits discriminatory or unlawful suspension or deactivation of workers' accounts and requires clear, verifiable, and understandable information on terms and conditions of engagement. 

It also mandates accessible, fair, and effective dispute resolution mechanisms. Incorporating these provisions would require establishing specialised dispute resolution systems, potentially including online complaint portals, fast-track mediation, and sector-specific arrangements.

To align with the Convention, Bangladesh would need to undertake a series of legal, institutional, and policy reforms. This could include adopting a dedicated Platform Work and Digital Labour Act or integrating platform-specific provisions into existing labour laws. 

Such legislation would need to define platform work, clarify employment classification criteria, establish minimum pay and cost compensation standards, mandate OSH protocols, regulate algorithmic decision-making, protect personal data, and create accessible dispute resolution mechanisms. It would also need to recognise platform workers' right to collective bargaining, enabling them to negotiate terms and conditions with platforms. 

Institutionally, Bangladesh would need to strengthen labour inspection and enforcement mechanisms to monitor platform compliance, including through digital audits of pay, working time, and deactivation patterns. It will require improving DIFE's capacity. Social protection systems would need to be expanded to include platform workers, with simplified digital registration and contribution mechanisms. 

Multi-stakeholder dialogue involving government, platforms, workers' organisations, and civil society would be essential to designing and implementing these reforms. The comprehensive framework will require coordination among major institutions to avoid fragmented implementation of such framework. Fairwork Bangladesh's principles and scoring framework could serve as a practical tool for monitoring progress and incentivising platforms to improve labour standards.

By aligning national laws and policies with the Convention's provisions, Bangladesh can transform platform work from a precarious survival strategy into a dignified and sustainable source of employment. The Convention's emphasis on rights, transparency, and accountability offers a pathway for Bangladesh to lead in the region on platform labour governance, ensuring that technological innovation is matched by social protection and decent work for all.

Ananya Raihan is Chief Imaginator, DataSense at iSocial. Maisha Zaman is Research and Communication Associate, DataSense at iSocial. 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.