Immigration is again a federal election issue, but those who claim outsiders are taking Aussie jobs are missing the point. You don’t need to live in Australia to take a job from an Australian worker. And an Australian living in Australia could work just about anywhere in the world … online. Welcome to globalisation from a dark horse who’s making the gig economy work for her.
Global job platforms such as Upwork (formerly Elance and oDesk), Fiverr, Speedlancer and many more have given Australian employers a simple way to post and fill jobs with overseas (or local) workers. Those who post jobs can list and hire on the same day. No visas needed for temporary or even permanent roles paying well below the minimum wage or above. Online outsourcing can be a good or bad depending on where you sit.
Upwork is the biggie, with its freelancers listing more than 3,500 skills. The company’s gross turnover was $1.76B for 2018, a 28% increase on the previous year. Today, a search for ‘writer, Australia’ came up with more than 548 jobs. It notched 600 two years ago, so there’s some slippage. That could be due to employers being more ‘niched’ in their listings.
Most tasks advertised on these global job platforms are for semi-skilled or skilled workers, according to a World Development ‘Digital Dividends’ Report. It found that a given worker on Upwork’s predecessor – oDesk – was 1.3 times more likely to find work with an online employer in their own country than abroad. The World Bank report said domestic workers were paid more than their international peers for the same type of work on the job platform. So, it’s not all bad for Aussies perhaps.
Upwork from the inside
I’m an Upworker. Over the past three years, Upwork has been one of my many income streams as a copywriter, content marketing writer and teacher. I’ve earned about more than $US50,000 including up to $US150 per hour. I’ve logged more than 400 hours of work, but that doesn’t include projects. I’m hooked by the variety of work gigs I’ve been able to tap into and range of global clients. There are no cold calling potential clients who don’t quite believe they need a writer, let alone why and how it could boost their business and customer engagement.
But employers, including those based in Australia, are posting jobs that are harrowing to read. Would you ghostwrite an e-book of 10,000 words for $US5? Typically, such job postings demand contenders write in fluent English, native even, and that they also proofread and edit the book, sometimes add images, and submit the book through Copyscape to verify it’s original. You won’t be acknowledged as an author either. All that for $US5? And, yes, people do bid for those roles. I don’t know why and from where they’re based.
The naysayers
If I took on such a job, it would just be on a race to the bottom. The downside of the gig economy is the “rise of an anxious, disenfranchised workforce glued to their smartphones or laptops, waiting for the next gig to materialise”, says Joseph G Davis, Professor of Information Systems and Services, at the University of Sydney, in The Conversation.
Writer Rachel Smith, who runs the Rachel’s List website, an Australian online job and social platform for creatives, agrees. She says “treating your writing services like the bargain basement table at Target is never going to end well”.
Big Brother part of the gig economy
“There’s not a lot of trust going on. I’ve read about job-posters who demand you install software so they can watch you work and monitor your hours.”
Well, I haven’t had to install that software, as Upwork already has it. Some of my clients have set up contracts for me ticking the box to compel me to use this software. It takes a screen shot every 10 minutes and uploads it to Upwork for the client to see what I’ve been working on. I just find it annoying and know I don’t do my best work with the looming camera click interrupting my creative flow. I’ve asked clients to remove that requirement from the contract – and they’ve been happy to do so. And when I’m negotiating with new clients, I tell them how I work best – without Big Brother.
As writers, we’re not machines. Sometimes you have to sit and ponder, maybe grab a reference book to check a quote or info, you need to digest info, maybe hit the trampoline for some down (and up) time like I do. I don’t charge for this rumination time, but it’s a key part of how to shape ideas into words.
As well, Smith says the job sites set up false expectations for the industry overall.
“A lot of my time is spent educating job posters on what is fair and reasonable in the current market. These sites aren’t interested in fair and reasonable; just in ensuring they get stuff done as cheaply as possible.”
Drawing the line at free work
And that’s why I’ve up-ed my rates to $US110 per hour. It helps weed out time wasters, but some employers try it on. They’ve asked me to try and review their app (for free) or interview me at length when they have a miniscule budget for writing. I’ve been caught out by others who pick my brain to talk about content marketing strategy and have even written a list of ideas for them in the hope I get a contract. And it’s just crickets after that. No more free work. I have my eggs in lots of baskets, so I now don’t have to compromise my business goals to take unpaid or underpaid work.
As a worker, you can wallow about these not-even-scraping Third World rates – and let them crush your life spirit. Or you can zero in on higher paying gigs, negotiate for a higher rate (based on your experience and work samples), or compromise your rates a tad for ongoing assignments. As a contractor, you can either take, leave or negotiate your rate of pay.
Fair work?
According to a spokesman for the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman, that office helps people understand whether they or those they hire are an employee or independent contractor.*
“Independent contracting is a genuine pathway for people who want to pursue self-employment and using contractors is a legitimate business decision, providing it is done lawfully,” he replied via email to me.
And the clincher: “Since independent contractors aren’t employees, they don’t have a minimum wage or pay rate.”
But, it was seeing too many lowly paid roles that Australian-based employers had advertised by global job platforms along the lines of ‘temporary with a view to becoming permanent’ that got up my goat. Apparently, I was the first person to email the Fair Work Ombudsman. They won’t investigate because they say “depending on the circumstances, a matter is more likely to progress to an investigation when a request for assistance has been received from an individual directly impacted”.
In other words, for an investigation to start, someone has to take up the below-award-rates job before they can then complain to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Ombudsman needs a ‘victim’ before they probe. What about protecting vulnerable people from unscrupulous employers? What about putting the onus on Australian employers to create and advertise roles that don’t undercut the legal minimum adult wage?
But, even if the ombudsman did protect Australian workers from underhanded Australian employers on these global job platforms, there’s still a problem. Australian employers could preference non-Australian workers over local ones. That means Aussies lose jobs to those overseas. It works both ways as Australians using job platforms can ‘take the jobs of people overseas’. That’s globalisation. The horse has bolted.
P.S.
As of today, 1 May 2019, Upwork has started charging workers to apply for jobs. It costs $US0.15 for one credit to bid, and some jobs need six. Upwork says it’s will help the “best [Upworkers] rise to the top”. But, as someone who’s already got a 100% satisfaction rating overall from my clients, and have been a top-ranked Upworker within six months of joining the platform, I hope I already stand out. (You can check out my profile here).
Upwork’s unusual move to charge job seekers to apply for work really aims to deal with the overswamped inboxes of those who advertise. They even receive automated bids – yes, there are automated bots for that, too.
*Any worker who believes they may be engaged in a sham contracting arrangement can contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au.