Plugging gaps in pursuit of decent work
By Calvin Cheng and Chau Weng Yin
Foreword by Datuk Prof Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah
July 2026
Key takeaways
The Gig Workers Act 2025 marks an important first step towards regulating gig work in Malaysia but significant gaps remain. While the act lays important groundwork in protecting gig workers through its provisions, significant reforms are necessary to make meaningful progress towards addressing decent work deficits in the platform economy.
Future policy dialogues and policy refinement could prioritise enhancing economic security and social protection of gig workers. The Gig Workers’ Consultative Council established under the act can develop evidence-based minimum earning formulas that account for actual working time and out-of-pocket costs. Furthermore, through the council, stakeholders could explore a co-contribution model for the social protection of gig workers, under which they and platform providers share responsibility for financing coverage against a broader range of risks.
Introducing working time regulations and refining deactivation procedures. The Gig Workers’ Consultative Council could explore introducing reasonable caps on cumulative working hours and mandatory rest periods in high-risk sectors to safeguard public health and safety. On the issue of deactivation, policy evolution could focus on clearly defining valid grounds for termination while prohibiting deactivations based solely on opaque or arbitrary performance metrics.
Advancing algorithmic governance requires a shift towards a more substantive, rights-based frameworks. In consultation with relevant stakeholders, future regulation could explore taking steps towards requiring meaningful explanations of how automated systems operate, including the criteria and weights used to assign tasks or evaluate performance. There is also a strong case to establish explicit guardrails in service of data protection, privacy and fair use.
Strengthening gig workers’ voice and institutionalising worker representation is essential to address structural power imbalances in the gig economy. While the act affirms gig workers’ freedom of association, future social dialogue could explore pathways for gig worker associations to exercise this right, including by initiating collective bargaining and concluding enforceable collective agreements.
More broadly, the act’s effectiveness ultimately depends on the Gig Workers’ Consultative Council’s ability to function as a central forum for consensus-based policy development and strong inter-agency coordination.
