HYDERABAD: A report by the International Alliance of App-Based Transport Workers (IAATW) has warned that app-based transport and delivery workers could increasingly be pushed into a “pay-to-work” system in which drivers pay platform companies to access work.
According to the report, some companies are testing a subscription-based model in which drivers pay a fee to use the platform and receive ride or delivery bookings.
IAATW (South Asia) vice president Shaik Salauddin said: “In this model the driver pays the company to subscribe to the app for a specific period, such as six hours, 12 hours, a week or a month, or for a fixed value of bookings. This reverses the direction of the payment transaction from company-to-driver to driver-to-company.”
The alliance said the system is being introduced as a Software as a Service (SaaS) model and is spreading in parts of South Asia.
IAATW said the model has not been addressed in discussions on global labour standards for platform workers being prepared by the International Labour Organisation ahead of the International Labour Conference 2026 in Geneva.
Citing earlier ILO estimates, the report noted that about 154 million people work in the platform economy worldwide, with 62–82% engaged in the transport sector.
The alliance also criticised the recently released “Blue Report” ahead of the Geneva conference, stating that emerging platform models such as subscription-based systems were not reflected in the draft despite submissions made by the organisation.
It further noted that more than 80% of platform workers are based in the Global South, calling for labour frameworks that address their working conditions.