By Emma Batha
LONDON, May 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Gig workers using some of Britain s most popular labour platforms, including Amazon Flex and Uber Eats, often earn less than the minimum wage, researchers said on Tuesday, as they called for stronger protections.
Amazon s courier arm and cab services Bolt and Ola came bottom in a University of Oxford study looking at how fairly 11 of the country s best known platforms treat workers, with all three scoring zero points. The lack of stable income due to the highly variable nature of the demand for gig services and the lack of any formal employment protection means gig companies wield an exceptional amount of power over gig workers, the study said.
The results of a joint trial conducted by American Airlines, British Airways and the oneworld Alliance reveal that a comprehensive Covid-19 testing programme can help re-open international travel.
Language games used to bypass screening and restrictions on social media
A Palestinian man inspects the damage of a six-storey building destroyed by an early morning Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AP Photo
Palestinians, who fled their homes due to Israeli air and artillery strikes, wash their clothes at a UN-run school in Gaza city. Reuters
Rockets are launched towards Israel from the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
A satellite image shows the rubble of a Gaza Strip high-rise building. AP Photo
A member of the Palestinian Abu Dayer family receives treatment at Al-Shifa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on their home in Gaza city. AFP
A comprehensive testing system is key to resuming international travel, according to the results of a University of Oxford trial.
The experiment, which involved data from almost 600 travellers on flights from the US to Heathrow, also showed passengers would be happy to pay for their own tests.
Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) used flights operated by British Airways and American Airlines for the trial, which took place between November 2020 and March 2021.
Travellers took a PCR test 72 hours before departure, a LAMP test upon arrival at Heathrow – a type which returns results more quickly than the PCR – and a third PCR taken three to five days after returning.