Global negotiations on gig worker standards open in Geneva as a landmark New Zealand Supreme Court ruling reshapes the local debate
The International Labour Organization has commenced its final round of negotiations in Geneva on 1 June 2026, working toward the first binding international convention on gig economy work — arriving at a moment when New Zealand’s own platform work landscape is being reshaped by the courts.
The ILO's standard-setting committee is holding its final discussions from 1–11 June at the 114th International Labour Conference, with member states aiming to agree on binding rules and recommendations by the end of next week.
The gig economy nearly doubled in size between 2016 and 2021, according to the ILO, reaching an estimated market value of roughly $10.2 trillion in 2023. It now counts up to 435 million workers — approximately 12.5 per cent of the global labour workforce, according to the World Bank.
The classification question
A central sticking point is whether protections such as the minimum wage and benefits including healthcare, sick leave, and social security should apply to all workers on these platforms, or depend on whether they are classified as employees or self-employed.
Rights groups say the stakes are real. A May 2026 Human Rights Watch report, Algorithms of Exploitation, found that across nine countries studied, gig workers face low and unstable earnings, unsafe working conditions, and little to no protection when injured or unable to work. Algorithmic management was a recurring theme, with Lena Simet, senior advisor on economic justice at Human Rights Watch, saying there is “a serious problem with transparency and accountability around how algorithms are used to determine pay and performance.”
Diverging global camps
Negotiations are expected to be difficult. According to Reuters, the US, China, Argentina, and India favour a less prescriptive approach, while the European Union, Brazil, and Mexico support stronger protections. The International Organisation of Employers, which represents about 50 million companies worldwide, has said any framework should remain flexible, allowing countries to adapt rules to national circumstances.
The trade union movement has demanded more. Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, told Reuters: “Technological innovation cannot be used as an excuse to weaken democratic labour rights.”
The seven-page draft text sets out rules to guarantee core labour rights, fair pay, and safe working conditions for all platform workers, regardless of how companies classify them.
Why this matters in New Zealand
New Zealand has no dedicated gig economy legislation, but the ground has shifted significantly in the past year. New Zealand’s Supreme Court ruling that four Uber drivers were employees has rightly been read as a win for worker rights, and has also signalled a deeper shift in how the country understands the business models behind gig-enabled platforms. With that ruling, and with Parliament now examining new contractor definition rules, the longstanding ambiguity over platform worker status is being addressed.
The timing is significant. New Zealand’s Employment Relations Act is built on a binary employee-or-contractor framework — precisely the classification model the ILO convention is seeking to move beyond. If a global convention is adopted and New Zealand moves toward ratification, it could accelerate domestic legislative reform.
For now, the Supreme Court ruling and the pressure of an emerging international standard mean platform operators in New Zealand face growing scrutiny. The question is no longer whether regulation will tighten, but how quickly.
