Gig economy workers may soon own their platforms

12 June 2018

Technology Decisions

Australia’s Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) has joined an international initiative to develop open-source technology for creating worker-owned gig economy platforms.

The BCCM will work with the global Platform Cooperativism Consortium on the development of the new Platform Co-Op Development Kit, which will allow aspiring co-operative workers to access software template and best legal practices to create their own sharing economies.

Google last month awarded the consortium with a $1 million grant to design open source tools that will support platform co-ops working in sectors such as childcare, elder care, home services and recycling.

BCCM CEO Melina Morrison noted that while popular gig economy platforms such as Uber, Deliveroo, Freelancer and Foodora neither own what they sell nor employ their suppliers, they take a cut of the profit because they own the rights to the technology used in the exchange.

Read the full article on Technology Decisions

Latest news

28 March 2024

‘Time is right’ for government-backed RMBS: Greg Medcraft

"The AFG chairman and former ASIC chair says the time is now right to bring about the competition inquiry’s ‘compelling’ recommendation for a public RMBS.
15 March 2024

‘I’m home’: how co-operative housing could take pressure off Australia’s housing crisis

At a time when everything from abolishing negative gearing to capping rents are being suggested as ways to reduce Australia’s housing crisis, little attention has been...
29 February 2024

Australian co-ops say ACCC inquiry can help achieve greater supermarket competition in regional and rural areas

The ACCC supermarkets inquiry issues paper released today expresses interest in how retail competition differs across Australia, particularly in regional and remote...