Key Innovations in the Draft Labour Bill, 2025
Episode 2
Platform Labour, Digital Work & the Expansion of Labour Protection
(Clause 16 of the Draft Labour Bill, 2025)
2.1
Introduction: Platform Labour and Global Labour Reform
In June 2025, the International Labour Organization convened the first International Labour Conference discussion dedicated exclusively to platform labour, marking a historic moment in global labour governance. For the first time, platform work, long treated as informal, peripheral, or purely contractual was formally recognised as a central issue in shaping the future of work. I participated in this Conference in Geneva as a member of the platform labour committee, where governments, employers, and organised labour engaged in intensive negotiations on how digital labour should be regulated. A central concern consistently raised by organised labour was the systematic exclusion of platform workers from basic legal protections, despite their growing contribution to national economies.
Throughout the deliberations, labour representatives insisted that platform work must not exist in a legal vacuum. Labour argued forcefully for the inclusion of clear statutory safeguards, including contractual protection, social security coverage, income protection, and the right to organise. The position was unequivocal: innovation must not come at the expense of dignity, security, or fundamental labour rights.
It is against this international backdrop and informed by sustained labour advocacy that the Draft Labour Bill, 2025 introduces explicit legal safeguards for platform labour. The provisions on platform services are therefore not incidental. They reflect a deliberate policy choice to align Ghana’s labour law with emerging global standards and the realities of modern work.
2.2 Legal Recognition of Platform Labour
The Draft Labour Bill, 2025 makes a decisive and forward-looking intervention through Clause 16, which formally recognises and regulates platform services.
For the first time in Ghanaian labour law:
I. Platform operators are required to be licensed by the National Labour Authority
II. Platform-mediated work is brought within the scope of labour regulation
III. Digital intermediaries are no longer legally invisible
This marks a clear departure from the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which was designed for an earlier industrial era and makes no provision for platform work.
2.3 Contractual Protection for Platform Workers
Under Clause 16(6)–(7), platform operators are required to enter into contracts of engagement with persons registered on their platforms.
At a minimum, these contracts must provide for:
a. Social security coverage
b. Income tax compliance
c. The right to form or join a trade union
d. Where applicable, deduction of trade union dues
These provisions directly challenge the narrative that platform workers are merely “independent contractors” beyond the reach of labour law. Instead, the Bill affirms that platform workers are entitled to core labour protections.
2.4 Economic Safeguards and Fee Regulation
Clause 16 introduces a critical economic safeguard by limiting the fees charged by platform operators to not more than 30 per cent of income earned by a platform worker.
Though labour argues that this is too high, it essentially aims to;
a. Preserves worker earnings
b. Limits contractual and algorithmic exploitation
c. Reinforces fairness in digital labour markets
It must be noted, that there is no comparable protection under Act 651.
2.5 Platform Labour and Worker Protection
Although platform work often occurs outside conventional workplaces, workers remain exposed to:
a. Online abuse and threats
b. Customer-initiated harassment
c. Digital retaliation, including arbitrary deactivation
Read together with the broader protective framework of the Draft Labour Bill, platform workers are no longer left in a legal blind spot.
When the bill is passed, digital work obtains legal recognition as work deserving of dignity and protection.
2.6 Oversight and Enforcement
Platform operators are subject to:
a. Licensing conditions
b. Data reporting obligations
c. Regulatory oversight by the National Labour Authority
This essentially moves platform labour from private self-regulation to public accountability.
2.8 Conclusion
By regulating platform labour, the Draft Labour Bill, 2025 demonstrates that Ghana’s labour reform agenda is not confined to correcting past deficiencies. It is deliberately oriented toward the future of work, informed by international developments and shaped by organised labour’s insistence on fairness, protection, and dignity.
Kenneth K. Koomson
Member, Labour Bill Drafting Committee