Josh Mandryk quoted in ILAW Network Report
The International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network is an organization composed of trade union and workers’ rights lawyers worldwide. It’s mission is to “unite legal practitioners and scholars in an exchange of information, ideas and strategies in order to best promote and defend the rights and interests of workers and their organizations wherever they may be.” GP’s Steven Barrett is on the ILAW Network’s advisory council.
The ILAW Network recently published the first in a series of reports. “Taken for a Ride: Litigating the Digital Platform Model” analyses litigation taking place around the world against digital platforms such as Uber, Foodora, Deliveroo and others.
The report, at p. 35, quotes this article, authored by Josh Mandryk, on Foodora’s departure from the Canadian market and the failure of Canadian employment legislation to protect workers in the gig economy.
First, the fact that Foodora appears to be on course to conclude its five years stint in Canada without any interrogation of its (mis) classification of its couriers by Canadian employment standards and tax authorities whatsoever reflects the colossal failure that is our regulation of the gig economy. There has been perhaps no other workplace issue more covered in the media or studied in the academy over the past five years than the gig or platform economy. And yet, despite the centrality of the gig economy in our discussion of the world of work, it does not appear that there have been any targeted inspection blitzes or proactive enforcement actions regarding the status of Foodora couriers or other gig economy workers for employment standards, tax, EI or CPP purposes.
Lawyers
Steven Barrett, Joshua Mandryk