By Victor Ahiuma-Young

The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC-Africa, has called on Nigeria and other African countries to urgently ratify and implement the newly adopted International Labour Organization, ILO, Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy, 2026.

The Convention, adopted at the just concluded 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, establishes the first global labour standard specifically designed to regulate digital labour platforms and protect platform workers.

It seeks to ensure that workers in the rapidly expanding digital economy enjoy the same fundamental rights as other workers, regardless of their employment classification or the technology used to assign and manage work.

ITUC-Africa in a statement by its General Secretary, Akhator Joel Odigie, alongside the global trade union movement, welcomed the Convention as a historic milestone, stating that it “establishes the first global labour standard dedicated to platform workers and affirms that workers’ rights apply equally in the digital economy.”

The organisation highlighted that it “provides important protections against worker misclassification, unfair deactivation, opaque algorithmic management, violations of privacy, unsafe working conditions, and exclusion from social protection.”

The union body stressed the significance of the Convention for Africa, where “millions of workers increasingly depend on digital platforms for their livelihoods,” noting that it offers “a powerful framework for promoting decent work, fair remuneration, social protection, occupational safety and health, and the rights to organise and bargain collectively.”

ITUC-Africa urged governments across the continent to move swiftly towards ratification, saying: “We urge African governments to ratify and domesticate the Convention without delay and to engage trade unions and platform workers in developing national laws and policies that reflect its provisions.”

The organisation also underscored the importance of implementation, adding that “the African trade union movement stands ready to organise platform workers, strengthen their collective voice, provide support and representation, and work with governments and other stakeholders to ensure that technological innovation advances social justice rather than precarious work.”

It further emphasized that “the future of Africa’s digital economy must be built on rights, dignity, fairness, and decent work for all.”