The ABC recently published a recent article about the gig economy and Health and Safety. For those of who are not aware of the gig economy, it is the new style of work sourcing that is becoming popular. Similar to the concepts behind Uber and AirBnB, the gig economy allows organizations and individuals to contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. Airtasker was the main one mentioned in the ABC article, however the other may and will exist in the future.
The article describes an “online marketplace” and “what appears to be unlicensed operators taking on risky jobs, such as asbestos removal, at low costs.”
Please see below the link to the full article.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/unions-raise-safety-concerns-over-gig-economy-cowboys/9529736
Some questions raised from the article are
- Do we need to address this as a new health and safety concern/issue, and if so how?
- Do our current statutory and common law systems address this already?
I believe the answers are yes, and yes. Of course we as a profession need to be responsive to new situations and emerging issues, but our current system is flexible enough (by intent) and should be able to legally address these issues. Once some examples are established work practices will start to change.
I’d be interested to hear what you think though?