CMNS253: Critical Analysis of Canada's Gig Workers and the Gig Economy

This essay provides a critical analysis of the gig economy in Canada, examining the experiences and working conditions of gig workers. It begins with an introduction to the gig economy, defining it as activities coordinated through digital platforms, and highlights the growth of this sector. The essa...Read More

Running head: CANADA’S GIG WORKERS
CANADA’S GIG WORKERS
Name of student
Name of university
Author’s note:

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Introduction
Gig economy could be considered as platform, and the sharing or collaborative
economy that is significantly expanding as the digital platforms that allows the combining
together of purchasers as well as the workers of the services continues to emerge as well as
expand globally. Yet, it has been observed that while there is significant growth in the
developments within the gig economy as well as the experiences of the workers within it,
significantly little research has been conducted to date has been focussed on the countries
such as Canada on the gendered experiences of the gig work. This essay intends to analyse
the prospectives of the Canada gig workers and determine their working conditions.
Discussion
Canada’s Gig Workers
The gig economy of Canada mainly denotes to the activities that could be coordinated
using the digital platforms. The companies who are operating the platforms acts as the
intermediaries, allowing the purchasers for ordering the timed as well as the monetized task
from the available worker, commonly taking the fee or the commission when this service has
been paid for it has been completed. The workers takes on the specific gigs in Canada
without any constant assurance of any kind of further employment and these are invariably
classified by the gig economy as the independent contractors instead of the employees.
Canada has been successful in ensuring that the unemployment rate is lowest in almost forty
years. In spite of the beneficial economic indicator, the majority of the surveyed Canadians
are presently experiencing the psychological recessions [1]. This particular economic anxiety
might be the symptom of the unpredictability of the modernization of Canadian economy as
well as the changes within the nature of the work. It has been described by the various
researchers that the gig economy is the temporary, flexible jobs which are the commonplace

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and presently the companies are tending towards the hiring of independent freelancers as well
as the contractors rather than any full-time employees. In the communities that are
economically struggling, and the regions that are roiled by the globalisation as well as the
altering demands of customers, the technology implementation could develop the
spontaneous opportunities of work that might not have the otherwise accessible [2]. The
major operating models of the platforms of gig economy could be classified into the
crowdwork and the on-demand works. The crowdwork denotes to the tasks that have been
commissioned as well as executed virtually, using the internet. The purchasers of service
advertise the particular tasks on the platforms, that could then be matched to the particularly
skilled crowdworkers placed anywhere within the world. Within this model, crowdsourcer as
well as the crowdworker infrequently experience any kind of face-to-face conversations. The
on-demand work denotes to the tasks that could be executed locally, with involvement of the
purchaser as well as the provider within the physical proximity [3]. These kinds of tasks are
commonly organized using the mobile platforms by the companies that sets the terms of
particular service, involving the fees as well as the minimum standards of service quality and
then have a role in the selection and the management of workers. In some of the contexts,
notably within the poorer countries, the workers have the ability of engaging the work
platforms utilizing the lower technology methods, like the text messages, or the phone calls.
With the introduction of the digital platform in the gig industry, the workers are extensively
centralized and empowered. The entire gig industry could be classified into the three sectors,
namely the spread of various digital technology, the significant flexibilisation of the labour
markets as well as the individualization of the labour. The present developments in the
information as well as the digital technologies, the higher quality as well as the low costs of
the infrastructure of the information technology, have led to the creation of the enabling
environment for the new jobs as well as the forms of the work globally [4]. The digital

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technology has supported the users in seeking various kinds of works, and allows the
employers for overcoming the shortages of skills as well as meeting the fluctuations in the
labour demands [5]. It has been observed that the gig economy has signaled the evolution of
the digitally mediated human resource management, the purchasers in on-demand economy
are not solely businesses as well as the other conventional employers but also the individuals
consumers who are interested in gaining significant benefits from the comparatively
affordable services that are delivered to the individuals at touch of any button. In the middle-
income countries, this particular trend is forced by the extensive growth in number of the
middle-class and tech-savyy customers.
Condition of the industry
The flexibility of the labour market could be considered as the multifaceted notion
that is spanning in the various dimensions, that differs across the national context as well as
the sectors. Since long terms, several countries have intentionally chosen with pursuing the
flexibilisation of the labour market, ostensibly for boosting the competitiveness as well as the
efficiency within the increasingly globalized economical conditions [6]. It has also been
accompanied by institutionalization or extended entrenchment of the various forms of
flexibility that is driven by the employer. This particular flexibility denotes that the firms
guarantee the rising high degree of the numerical flexibility in the terms of number of the
employees who are working and the rising use of the short term assignments of work.
It has been observed that gig economy of Canada is increasingly becoming the central
section of the Canadian life. The jobs in this sector is not particularly not restricted to the
Uber as well as the Skip the dishes. The grocery stores, various laundries and several banking
on the new workforce that would accept the jobs on the per-task basis [7]. Various surveys
has been conducted with the representative slice Canadian employed population, where the
non-gig as well as the gig workers were considered. The surveys were mainly conducted on

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the online platform, utilizing the national representative panel that has been maintained by
popular companies. It has also been observed that over 40 per cent of the millenials of
Canada have effectively participated in Gig economy over past five years, as per the studies
[8].
The workers within the gig economy are presently the independent or dependent
contractors. The crucial feature has significantly increased the control over respective affairs.
It might be analysed that the major benefits of gig economy for competition is introduced in
the present times. The consumers could easily expect enjoying the major advantages of the
increased competition that involves the lower prices, the increased convenience as well as the
availability, and the improved quality of the services using the improved technology [9].
With appropriate balance of the regulation as well as the competition, the passengers could
expect that industries would guarantee the competitive, safe as well as new options of
transportation in future. It could be observed that there has been significant fears that gig
economy would be able to displace the workers within the conventional businesses. But the
preliminary studies of taxi industry has revealed that there has been complementation instead
of displacement in the gig economy in Canada. Some of the major loss of the shares of
market might be gained from the competition, but pie could still grow as well as benefit
people. The entrepreneurs could benefit significantly from the multitude of the professional
services accessible to the businesses deprived of the onerous obligations of employment.
The gig economy might also effectively lift the people out of underground economy
by providing the legitimate, flexible opportunities of work with the low barriers of entry [10].
The vulnerable society members or the individuals with the various cultural, social or
language barriers has faced difficulties in discovering the employment, could easily avoid the
conventional burdens of hiring as well as the employment procedure using the platforms of
gig economy. Any worker within the gig economy has been considered to be free from

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managing their respective output, the earnings as well as the deliverables. There are no
obligations for working, but if they have selected to do it, they could work from whenever,
wherever and for any individual of their respective choice. It is the contrast to presumptions
of conventional employment relationships. What we possess is the number of the economic
opportunities for the gig workers for earning the living that are not accepted due to the
unavailability of conformity to the conventional models of employment [11]. The most
crucial questions is regarding why the commercially negotiated relationships are required to
be boxed as the employment relationships. As the Canadians companies view the
optimisation of the operations as well as streamlining the costs, it has grown clear that the
entrepreneurs, the businesses as well as the unemployed citizens might be required to
embrace this gig economy of Canada in spite of the shady aspects. The main emphasis is
required to be placed on the encouragement of the beneficial economic opportunities using
the improved protections for the gig workers, instead of the quashing models that possesses
the potential of empowering workforces.
Presently, the gig workers are significantly connected and empowered as the
introduction of technology has allowed the sector to venture out to various job opportunities
and earn a good living. The technology implementation in the modern times has allowed the
people to stay connected and be updated with the recent developments in the country.
Conclusion
Therefore, it could be concluded that the gig workers in Canada are significantly
connected and empowered in working effectively and efficiently. The gig economy of
Canada mainly denotes to the activities that could be coordinated using the digital platforms.
The companies who are operating the platforms acts as the intermediaries, allowing the
purchasers for ordering the timed as well as the monetized task from the available worker,

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commonly taking the fee or the commission when this service has been paid for it has been
completed.

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References
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