ILO Convention n° 193 represents a milestone as it is the first time the international community has agreed on a dedicated binding framework for platform work. It emphasis on transparency of automated decision-making, fair pay information, and non-discriminatory access to social protection addresses long-standing gaps in a sector that has grown outside traditional labour law.
What is it?
The Decent work in the platform economy Convention (n°193) marks the first international labour standard dedicated specifically to the platform economy. It sets out a global framework designed to ensure that emerging business models and technological innovation complement worker’s rights, fair competition and sustainable economic growth.
Against a backdrop of fast-moving technological change and the expansion of platform-based work, the need to safeguard worker’s rights has become ever more pressing, leading the International Labour Organisation to draw up new standards and guidance to secure decent work in the digital economy on the 12th of June 2026.
This Convention seeks to address issues such as automated systems and is intended to stop companies from using technology as a means to circumvent workers’ rights, including fair pay and safe working conditions.
This Convention is also the first ILO discussion focused on the impact of the digital transition concerning the working world.
Who is concerned?
The Convention applies to digital labour platforms and digital platform workers regardless of whether they are formally employed or self-employed and applies equally to location-based and online platform work.
What Rights and Protections are covered under the Convention?
A broad range of issues are addressed including:
Fundamental principles and rights at work;
Remuneration or payment
Social security
Impact of the use of automated systems based on algorithms on workers
Data protection and privacy
Occupational health and safety
It requires platforms to inform workers about the use of automated systems that monitor or evaluate their work. Workers are entitled to a written explanation and human review of significant automated decisions.
Furthermore, under this Convention, States who ratify it commit to:
ensuring accurate worker classification. When determining whether a worker is employed or self-employed it is done so based on the actual nature of the work performed rather than relying solely on the terms set out in the contract.
Requiring platform workers benefit from social protection on terms no less favorable than those granted to other workers in a comparable situation.
Requiring platforms to give workers clear accessible information about how their compensation is calculated and paid.
What is not included in the Convention
The Convention requires that platform workers have access to social security “on terms no less favorable than those applicable to other workers with the same employment status.” This means that if, in a given country, self-employed workers receive less social protection than employees, platform workers classified as self-employed will remain vulnerable to these gaps. The Convention therefore does not guarantee universal or enhanced social protection for all platform workers but aligns with the existing level of protection under national law.
There is also no specific mechanism to ensure the stability or predictability of platform workers’ incomes.
- What does it mean for Belgium?
Convention 193 only entered its ratification phase after adoption on the 12 of June 2026 and requires 2 states to ratify it before it even enters into force. However, Belgium already has domestic rules covering much of the same ground. In addition, there is an EU layer converging with the Convention as the 2024/2831 Platform Work Directive must be transposed by Member States before 2 December 2026.