The majority of the UK’s population believe that the gig economy is unfair to gig workers according to research published by the University of Oxford’s Fairwork project. Just 22% think that gig economy platforms pay workers a fair wage.
The survey, conducted by Survation on behalf of the Fairwork research project, University of Oxford, polled 2,020 adults between the 21st and 22nd of October.
It found that the majority of the public believe that gig economy platforms prioritise making profits over having a beneficial impact on society.
The research also showed that:
- Nearly two-thirds of UK population (64%) support changes to employment law aimed at reducing the number of workers inaccurately defined as self-employed in the gig economy.
- Over half of those surveyed (57%) think gig economy platforms should be required to negotiate with the trade unions that represent their workers.
- Six out of ten people (60%) believe that gig economy platforms should be required to have worker representatives on their boards.
- Two-thirds of UK population (66%) agree that gig economy platforms should be required to tell their workers about significant changes in the technology used to manage their jobs.
There is also strong support for even more transformative policy, with a majority of under 45s agreeing that gig economy platforms should be taken into public ownership if they repeatedly fail to offer their workers fair pay and conditions.
The poll also shows strong support for objective monitoring of gig economy platforms, with a majority saying they would be more likely to be a customer of a gig economy platform which was judged to be treating its workers fairly.
