Author: Sauhardi Uniyal

Abstract

While the gig economy appears to offer flexibility, autonomy, and economic liberation, the reality for many workers is the opposite; gig workers are subjected to insecure jobs, algorithmic manipulation, and continued deprivation of basic worker rights. This article details how gig employers used misclassification and algorithmic control to create new forms of job exploitation disguised as new technologies. It draws on various sources of government statistics and compares the gig economy to other labor markets to show that the gig economy was not a true source of flexibility, but instead has been an instrument of labor casualization and erosion of workers’ most fundamental rights. This evolving trend requires immediate regulatory attention.