Integrating informal workers and digital work platforms into social insurance systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64184/ajlps.V3.I1.Y2026.P41-70.214Keywords:
informal employment, platform work, digital economy, social insurance, coverage inclusion, labor legislation, e-registration, flexible contributions, tax incentives, sustainability.Abstract
. This study focuses on incorporating informal workers and workers working on platforms into social insurance systems in the context of the rapid development of the digital economy. It unravels the conceptual framework and characteristics of informal work and analyzes the dynamics of platform work in terms of algorithmic access, pricing, and rating. The second part revisits fundamental principles at the heart of social insurance, such as compensation, solidarity and sustainability, as well as gaps of coverage caused by a movement towards narrow legal definitions and administrative tools that are failing to take account of an irregular income. The third section examines the policies implemented in France, Germany, Morocco and Egypt, featuring flexible definitions of workers, the creation of e-registration portals, and progressive linking of platforms to social insurance agencies. The paper concludes with recommendations that inclusion is successful in Iraq and the broader Arab world as a legal update to expand the meaning of 'worker' is needed, including a national digital platform for voluntary enrollment and flexible contributions, giving financial incentives for workers and platforms, and coordinated governance between the labor ministries, social insurance bodies and platforms. It recommends the development of incomes-adaptive contribution formulae, and the evaluation of the incentive schemes for their fiscal sustainability.
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