Governments leveraging the potential of Gig Workers in Fight against COVID-19, says report by Ola Mobility Institute
- Social Partnerships between governments and platform companies are playing a crucial role in relief measures and crisis management
- Gig workers are ensuring safety of citizens across the globe by providing essential transportation, goods and services at doorstep to enable stay at home
National, 7 April, 2020: Ola Mobility Institute (OMI), a policy research and social innovation think-tank, has released a report, “Leveraging and Protecting the Gig Economy against COVID-19 – Measures by Gig Economy and Governments around the World.” This report summarises the actions of both government and platform companies in leveraging the gig economy to fight against COVID-19.
Gig workers around the world from ride-hailing to delivery & professional services have stepped up their efforts to ensure minimal disruption to life for the public. The report highlights the role of governments, platforms companies and gig workers in providing essential services to society, crisis management, accelerating recovery and building resilience.
Speaking on the report, Carson Dalton, Senior Director, Ola Mobility Institute said, “COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis of our time. Under these extraordinary circumstances, gig workers and platform companies are adapting quickly and leveraging their workforce to ensure transportation services, delivery of essential commodities and medicines are available to the most vulnerable populations.” He further added, “Social Partnerships and agility of platform companies are helping people tide over this crisis.”
The COVID-19 outbreak has put a pause on established healthcare and economic systems in the world, necessitating large-scale economic and financial interventions by governments and businesses to minimise the hardships. OMI’s report provides an outlook into the fiscal and non-fiscal measures adopted by governments and platform companies around the world specifically for gig workers due to this global pandemic.
The report calls for a collective effort to strengthen social partnership with platform companies to fast-track the recovery process from the crisis and build a resilient future.
The report can be downloaded here.
About Ola Mobility Institute:
Ola Mobility Institute (OMI) is a policy research and social innovation think-tank of Ola that is focussed on developing knowledge frameworks at the intersection of mobility and public good. The Institute concerns itself with public research on the social and economic impact of mobility as a service, electric mobility, climate change, future of work and the mobility economy, transit-oriented planning, digitalisation of mobility, accessibility, safety, and gender. Follow @OlaMobilityInst on Twitter.