platforms1 Helani Galpaya, Laleema Senanayake...

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3044267

EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES FACED BY SRI LANKAN WORKERS IN WEB BASED DIGITAL LABOUR PLATFORMS

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Exploring the challenges faced by Sri Lankan workers in web based digital labourplatforms1HelaniGalpaya,LaleemaSenanayake,SuthaharanPerampalamAbstract: Sri Lanka is identifiedasoneof themost favorabledestinations in theworld forBusinessProcessOutsourcing/BusinessProcessManagement(BPO/BPM)industry.Inordertosecureanemploymentinthissector,SriLankansshouldhaveatleastabachelorsdegreewhereasonly3%ofSriLankanshaveoneandevenlessonITfield.Youthunemploymentishigh inSri Lankaeventhoughmostof theSri Lankansarecompetent, literateand famousaroundtheworldfortheirsoftskills.GiventhatmoreSriLankansareconnectedviaInternetandareexploringemploymentopportunitiesonline,thisresearchestimatethevalueofwebbased digital labour platform economy in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankans working on theseplatformsandchallengersfacedbythemandprovidepolicyrecommendationstoovercomethesechallengersandprovideopportunitiesformoreSriLankansonline.Keywords:Internet,Services,Connectivity

1. IntroductionBytheendof2016,47%ofworld’spopulationwasusingInternet(ITU,2016).ThisincreasedInternet connectivity has led to an outburst of information production and consumptionaround the world (World Bank, 2016). Research has proven that Internet rollout has animpact on productivity, job creation, consumer surplus and firm efficiency (Katz, 2012).Koutroumpis (2009)buildsastrongcaseontheeconomic impactofbroadbandongrowthbased on a research on 22 OECD countries. Many industries such as e-commerce, e/mbanking and e-governance have emerged as a result of the growth of broadband sector(Martin,2008;Joshi,2016).Thishascontributedtoinvestmentpayoffsinothersectorssuchas research and development, trade and services and has facilitated the improvement ofpublicservicestoenhancethebusinessenvironment(Zhen-Wei,Rossotto&Kimura,2009).2015 Human Development Report identified that globalization and the technologicalrevolutionare changinghowwedoandwhatwedoglobally.With increased connectivityglobally,natureofworkandoutsourcingitselfischanging,astheimportanceofthelocationofcertaintypesofworkperformedisstartingtobecomeinsignificant.Inthiscontext,moreandmorepeoplestartworkingvirtuallyandemployersstarttooutsourcetheirworkonlinetobenefitfromthelowcostswitchcontributestohighprofitsduetotheaccessibilityforaglobal competent workforce. Ataloy, 2013 has proved access to broadband services in aUnitedStatescountiesareassociatedwithapproximatelya1.8percentagepointincreaseinthe employment rate, with larger effects in rural and isolated areas by studying InternetaccessandlabourmarketoutcomeintheUnitedStatesfrom1999-2007.Empiricalevidencesuggests that Internet technologies have positive labour externalities but extremely allottowardsskilledworkerswhowillmostlikelybeemployed(GalperinandViecens,2014).Thiscomplementary nature of the skilled labour and Internet technologies are studied byForman,GoldfarbandGreensteinin2012byanalyzingtherelationshipbetweenUScountylevelwagegrowthandInternetinvestmentfrom1995-2000.TheyidentifyaskillbiasintheemploymenteffectofInternettechnologies.1ThisworkwascarriedoutbythesupportoftheInternationalDevelopmentResearchCenter,Canada

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3044267


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Inthiscontext,thisresearchexploresthewebbaseddigitallabourplatformeconomyofSriLanka. It identifies the Sri Lankan Business Process Outsourcing/ Business ProcessManagement (BPO/BPM) industry and compares it with the income generated from theworkers working in digital labour platforms. It specifically identifies dynamics of the SriLankansworking in global digital labourplatforms. The challenges facedby theseworkersareframedandbroughtforthtoinfluencepolicyandtofacilitateafavorableenvironmenttoworkersinglobaldigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka.

2. Researchquestions1. WhatisthevalueofwebbaseddigitallabourplatformeconomyofSriLanka?2. WhoisworkinginwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka?3. Whatarethechallengesfacedbyworkers inwebbaseddigital labourplatforms in

SriLanka?4. What are the possible policy measures that can be taken to overcome these

challengesfacedbyworkersinwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka?

3. Theoreticalbackground3.1WebbaseddigitallabourplatformsFuchs, 2013 defines the concept of digital labour from the Marx and Engles modes ofproductioninthecontextofglobalization.Heconnectsthemodeofproductionconcepttothe concept of new international division of labour (NIDL) in relation to Information andcommunicationtechnology(ICT)industry.Hisdefinitionofdigitallabourisbroadandlabourin the ICT value chain is defined as digital labour. This includes rare earth element (REE)mineralextractorsinCongo(agriculturallabour),FoxconnworkerwhoassemblestheiPhonein China (Industrial labour), Software developer in India, Call center worker in Sri Lanka,FreelancerfromPhilippinesandFacebookuserinMyanmar(Informationlabour)Coarse,1937hasstudiedhowthetechnologyischangingtheboundariesofthefirminearlytwentiethcentury.Transferofbusinessprocessoutsourcingfromdevelopedtodevelopingcountriesstartedfollowingtheinventionofbroadbandwhichfacilitatedthetransferoflargeamountofdatacrosscountry.Atthemoment,anewformofoutsourcingistakingplaceintheformofdigitallabourplatforms2(Graham,HjorthandLehdonvirta,2017).Categorizationof these platforms can be done based on location baseness and the specific skill/ personbaseness of the services/ tasks provided over the digital labour platform (Schmidt, 2017).Basedonthisclassification,basictypesofdigitallabourplatformsare:Cloudwork(web-baseddigitallabour)

1. Freelancemarketplaces(Eg:Upwork,freelancer)2. Microtaskingcrowdwork(Eg:AmazonMturk,Crowdflower)3. Contest-basedcreativecrowdwork(99designs,jovoto)

Gigwork(location-baseddigitallabour)1. Accommodation(Eg:Airbnb)

2Thesemarketshavealsobeennamed‘onlinelabourmarkets.’ThisarticleonlyfocusonSriLankansworkingincloudworkplatforms(webbaseddigitallabour)


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2. Transportationanddeliveryservices(gigwork)(Eg:Uber,Lyft)3. Householdservicesandpersonalservices(gigwork)(Eg:Taskrabbit)

Forthepurposeofthispaper,wehavenarroweddownourfocustodigitalworkthattakesplaceascloudwork(webbaseddigitallabour).Web-baseddigitallabourisenabledbydigitallabourplatformwherebuyersandsellersfindeach other and complete the end-to-end transaction: starting frommarket discovery, thebuyersourcestheworkfromthesellerofservice,thebuyerandsellercommunicateduringthecarryingoutof thework, thebuyerpaystheselleruponcompletionof thework. Theplatforms enable sellers to advertise themselves. The buyer can select the seller directlybasedonasearchprocess,orthebuyercanadvertisethejobandenablemultiplesellerstobidforthejobandselectonebasedonlowestpriceorothercritiera.Thesellersarerankedbased on multiple critieria including the buyers ranking as well as other indicatorsautomaticallymeasured by the platform itself. The digital labour platforms usuallymakemoney by charging a commission out of what the seller is paid by the buyer. For sellersonline outsourcing has generated new opportunities to access work in a global market,anywhereatanytime,aslongastheyhaveacomputer,Internetaccessandtheskills(Kueketal.,2014).Figure1:Graphicalrepresentationofcrowdwork(webbaseddigitallabour)platforms

Source:TobiasHoßfeld,MatthiasHirth,PhuocTran-Gia,20113.2ChallengesfacedbyworkersinwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsGraham,Hjorth,&Lehdonvirta,2017illustratesfourkeyconcernsofworkersinwebbaseddigital labour platforms based on a qualitative and quantitative research in Philippines,Malaysia,Vietnam,SouthAfrica,KenyaandNigeria.The firstconcern isbargainingpower,because the workers are unable to negotiate their pay in the global labour platforms.LehdonvirtaV (2016) inaempirical study inUnitedStates,Philippines,Nepal identify that


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theworkers inweb basedwork platforms are physically, temporally, and administrativelydetachedanddesynchronizedfromeachother.Thereforetheseworkersholdnocollectivebargainingpowerandsenseofbelongingtoacommunity.ThesecondconcernGraham,Hjorth,&Lehdonvirta,2017 illustrates iseconomicexclusionanddiscriminationbasedonreligion,ethnicity,disabilityorgender.Beerepoot&Branbegts(2015)inaquantitativeresearchonawebbasedplatforminBangladesh,Pakistan,IndiaandPhilippines identify how racial discrimination takes place on digital work platforms. In anexample they showa jobadvertisementwherebidders fromBangladeshandPakistanarenotencouragedtoapplyforthejob.Thirdconcernisintermediationwherehighperformingdigitalworkerswillbidforajobandoutsourcethesamejobforanotherdigitalworkerinthesameplatformforalowerpay.Finalconcern isskillandcapabilitydevelopmentwheredigitalworkersperformed lowendtasks which did not correspond to their existing skill set, professional experiences andexpertise. Zittrain, 2009 has identified that digital labor can range from highly creativeprojectstominiaturetaskswheretheworkerisnotawareoftheeffectoftheirwork.3.3DigitallabourinSriLankaIntermsofdigitalconnectivityandliteracy,26.8%ofthecountry’spopulationwascomputerliterate3in2015andover25%ofhouseholdshada computer (DepartmentofCensusandStatistics, 2015b). Over 19.5% of the population had Internet Access (Central Bank of SriLanka,2015b).SriLankahasthehighestliteracyrateinSouthAsia4.Asof2012,theliteracyrateofthecountrywas95.7%5.DepartmentofCensusandStatistics2012datarevealedthat36.5%ofSriLankansareabletoreadandwriteinEnglishand23.8%canspeakinthesame6.Latestcensusrevealed3%ofSriLankanshaveadegreeorabovequalification7.SriLankaisa lowermiddle-incomecountry8wheremostofthecountriesemploymentis inthe tertiary (services) sector. In linewithFuch’s classificationofdigital labour, agriculturallabourinICTisunavailableinSriLankaeventoughSriLankahasrareearthelementmineralsasaresource.REEextractionisnotdoneinSriLankaatthemoment.Intermsofindustriallabour in ICT, two ICTmanufacturing plants are available in Sri Lanka (ElectronicsWatch,2014)yetnumbersofworkersworkingintheseplantsarenotavailable.

In terms of information labour, executives around theworld have praised Sri Lankans ontheircreativity, friendlinessandadaptability,softskills that facilitateeasy integration in to

3DefinitionforComputerliteracy:Aperson(aged5-69)isconsideredasacomputerliteratepersonifhe/shecouldusecomputeronhis/herown.Forexample,evenifa5yearsoldchildcanplayacomputergamethenhe/sheisconsideredasacomputerliterateperson4MinistryofEducationandHighways.(n.d.).Overview.RetrievedMay13,2016,fromhttp://www.mohe.gov.lk/index.php/en/about-ministry/overview5DepartmentofCensusandStatistics.(n.d.).Http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2015/CHAP14/14.1_14.2.pdf.RetrievedMay13,2016,fromhttp://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2015/CHAP14/14.1_14.2.pdf6DepartmentofCensusandStatistics.(2012).CensusofPopulationandHousing,2012.RetrievedMay13,2016,fromhttp://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/CPH_2012_5Per_Rpt.pdf7DepartmentofCensusandStatistics.(n.d.).Http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2015/CHAP14/14.1_14.2.pdf.RetrievedMay13,2016,fromhttp://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2015/CHAP14/14.1_14.2.pdf8 World Bank. (n.d.). Sri Lanka. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from http://data.worldbank.org/country/sri-lanka


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foreignunits,whichmakesSriLankaanidealplaceforBPO/BPMindustry9.AsaresultofthisknowledgeandskillavailabilityinSriLankamanyforeigninvestorshavestartedinvestingontheBPOsectorofthecountry.Table1:GlobalandregionalrankingsofSriLankaasaBPOdestination

Organization YearandReport RankandNotesATKearney 2016: Global Services Location

IndexRanked14(upfrom16in2014)Sri Lanka is identified as a “hiddenjewel”withlowcost,similartalenttoIndia and an easier operatingenvironment.

Tholons 2016: Top 100 OutsourcingDestinations2016

Ranked 16 among the top 100outsourcingdestinations.

UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgram

2015:HumanDevelopmentIndex RankedfirstinSouthAsia

WorldEconomicForum

2015:NetworkreadinessIndex Rankedamongtop10inAsia

NOA 2013 & 2014: Offshoredestinationoftheyear

Sri Lanka awarded off shoredestination of the year for 2013 and2014

Source:SriLanka,IT/BPMdestination(http://srilankaitbpm.com/why-sri-lanka/#ranking)11

Recent survey by Information and communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA)revealedthattheBPOsectorworkforceis75,10712.Theemploymentgrowthrateofyearonyearofthissectorwas17%(2012-2013).Figure2:IT/BPMsectorworkforceasa%oftotalworkforceinSriLanka

Source: Source: SLASSCOM, 2014, labour force survey(http://www.statistics.gov.lk/samplesurvey/2015Q1report.pdf)

9ATKearney.(n.d.).Latestcensusrevealed3%ofSriLankanshaveadegreeorabovequalification.RetrievedMay15,2016,fromhttps://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/430128/Country_Competitiveness_Study-Sri_Lanka.pdf/7d3033a4-5935-41d8-bf99-a1462bf7d55310Rankingupdatedbytheauthorinlinewithlatestrankings11Rankingupdatedbytheauthorinlinewithlatestrankings12ICTworkforcerisesby50%since2010,NationalICTWorkforceSurvey2013reveals.(2014,May2).DailyFT.RetrievedMay15,2016,fromhttp://www.ft.lk/2014/05/02/ict-workforce-rises-by-50-since-2010-national-ict-workforce-survey-2013-reveals/

0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2011 2012 2013E 2014P


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Figure3:QualificationprofileofICTworkforce(2013)

Source:NationalICTWorkforceSurvey,ICTA,2013

The standard entry-level qualification on recruitment for BPO sector in Sri Lanka is aBachelors degree. 63% of the ICT workforce held a graduate or post-graduate levelqualification in 201313. Bachelors degree as the standard entry qualification for IT- BPMsectorisareasonablyhighbarriertoentry,giventhatSriLankaproducesonaverage25,000universitylevelbachelorsdegreeholdersperyear,andonly5,778oftheseareincomputerscienceandengineeringorrelatedtopics. Buteachyear, it isestimatedthatanadditional1,250Sri Lankans complete professional courses that fall short of a bachelor’s degree(Gamage&Wijesooriya,2012).Manymorepartiallycompleteothertechnicalqualifications.EventhoughtraditionalBPO/BPMsectorworkrequiresabachelor’sdegreeastheminimumentry criteria, others are likely tohave skills that couldbenefit fromopportunities inwebbaseddigitallabourplatforms.SomesegmentsoftheSriLankanpopulationstillhavehigherunemploymentrates-particularlyyouth.YouthunemploymentrateinSriLankaisover20%in2015.Figure4:Youthunemploymentcomparednationalunemploymentlevel

Source:SriLankaLaborforceStatistics,DepartmentCensusandStatistics(2010-2015)

13SLASSCOM.(n.d.).SriLankanIT/BPMIndustry2014Review.RetrievedMay15,2016,fromhttp://www.slasscom.lk/sites/default/files/SriLankanIT-BPMIndustryReview2014.pdf

Diploma20%

HigherDiploma14%

Degree49%

PGDiploma4%

Masters10%

PhD0%

Other3%

4.9 4.2 4 4.4 4.3 4.6

19.4 17.2 17.3 19.1 20.3 20.2

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

UnemploymentRate(%) YouthUnemploymentRate(%)


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Inthiscontext,itisimportanttoidentifyandexplorepotentialworkthattheseunemployedskilledworkerscanbeemployedin.3.4WebbaseddigitallabourinSriLankaAglanceatsomeofthecommonlyusedwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsshowthattheseplatformsarenotunpopularinSriLanka,andthatseveraloftheseareamongsomeofthethe top sites accessed by Internet users in Sri Lanka. Fiverr.com, Freelancer.com,Upwork.comandmicroworkers.comarea fewof thewellknownwebbaseddigital labourplatformsinSriLanka.Table 2: Proxies for the use and popularity of various knownweb based digital labourplatformsin/bySriLanka

Microworkplatform

SiterankbyAlexa RegisterednumberofSriLankansSriLanka World

Upwork.com 235 579 4,910Freelancer.com 257 1,424 5,511Fiverr.com 32 526 Fiverrdoesnotallowsortingregisteredsellers

by country. But the number is likely to behigherthanUpwork/FreelancergiventheveryhighAlexarankingcomparedtoplatform.

Microworkers.com 500< 17,905 -Source: Authors, based on http://www.alexa.com/ and websites of the listed web baseddigital labour platforms. The Alexa ranks websites by frequency of access, by country.RegisterednumberofparticipantsisacountofthesellerswholistSriLankaastheircountry,andisselfdeclared.AstheAlexarankingsindicate,SriLankansareregisteredandusingwebbaseddigitallabourplatforms. Upwork, Fiverr and Freelancer are popular among Sri Lankan web userscomparedtotheworld.Therefore, this research exploreswebbaseddigital labour platformeconomyof Sri Lankaandwhoworkintheseplatforms,inwhatcapacityandthechallengesfacedbythem.Also,current work done by Sri Lankans on web based digital labour platforms are notdocumentedorexplored.Thisresearchwillcontributetofillthisgapinliteratureaswell.4.MethodologyAthreefoldapproachisadaptedinthisresearch.Theyare:IslandwidequantitativesurveyQuantitative findings of this paper are based on a nationally representative survey. Thesample size of this survey was 5500. The sample was designed to represent the targetpopulation, covering both urban and rural areas in nine provinces and 25 districts of thecountrywithnomore than±2.5%marginoferror.Therespondentswereselectedusingamulti-stagestratifiedrandomsamplingmethodusingprobabilityproportionaltosize(PPS).Themainstratificationwasbasedonthepopulationsizeofthedistrict.Withineachdistrict


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urbanandruralcenterswererandomlyselected.FieldworkforthestudywasconductedinOctober-Decemberof2015.Non-representativesurveyTovalidatethefindingsoftheislandwidesurvey,weconductedasurveyamong84currentfreelancerswhoattendedDialog’sFreelancerSL2.0eventon22ndofOctober2016.Qualitativesurvey

The qualitative research was designed to understand people’s perceptions and attitudestowardswork inwebbaseddigital labourplatforms.Sixfocusgroupdiscussions(FGD)andonein-depthinterview(IDI)werecarriedoutinthethreepopulationcenters:Colombo(4),Jaffna(1)andGalle(1).EachFGDhadbetween3to6respondentsandlasted2.5hoursonaverage. The In Depth Interviews were conducted with a respondent who could notparticipateinaFGD,andlasted2hours.Atotalof20respondentswereinterviewedusingbothmethods.

Forbothlinesofresearch,ourtargetagegroupwasthepopulationbetweentheagesof16-40. The lower level was set at 16, as this is the age when students sit for the nationalOrdinary Level exam (after 10 years of schooling), after which some may go into theworkforce full-or part-time. Existing literature suggest majority of the online freelanceworkersareyoungandbetweentheagegroupof18-28(Kueketal.,2014).Wewantedtounderstandthedynamicsofsuchworkamongslightlyolderpersonswhomightstillhavethenecessaryskillstoparticipateonplatforms.Thereforeourupperagecut-offwassetat40.

5.Resultsanddiscussion5.1ValueofwebbaseddigitalworkplatformeconomyIncomeofonlinefreelancersMost of the workers worked on web based digital labour platforms part time, and wasinvolvedinworkonlytwo-threehoursaday.WorkersearnedaroundLKR20,000(USD140)permonthbyworkingpart time.Theworkerswhoworked full timeonplatforms,earnedaroundLKR50,000(USD350)permonth.Afewworkersearnedmorethantheirfulltimejobbyworkingparttimeonline.ThereweresomeexceptionalfreelancerswhoearnedaroundLKR150,000-LKR200,000(USD1,000-USD1,300)permonth.Figure 5: Averagemonthly earnings of Sri Lankansworking onweb based digital labourplatforms

Source:LIRNEasia

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

USD


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0 50 100 150 200 250USD

MostfrequentprojectvaluesMost frequent project value of online work was around USD 5 per project. There wereworkerswhochargedUSD50-USD200perproject.Figure6:MostfrequentprojectvaluesofworkdonebySriLankans

Source:LIRNEasiaValueofwebbaseddigitalplatformeconomyBased on the number of workers in Sri Lanka, the value of web based digital platformeconomy was calculated based on pessimistic assumptions. We assumed 40% of theworkers are active and that they earn a regular income. This was around 7,800 workersonline.AsthemonthlyaverageincomeofworkerswereUSD200,thetotaltakehomefromworkingonwebbaseddigitallabourplatformswascalculatedasbelow:

$200(monthlyaverageearning)*12(months)*7800(workers)=$18.7MillionWhen comparing this value with the revenue of the BPO/BPM industry of Sri Lanka, Peremployeecontributionofworkingondigitallabourplatformslastyear(2016)wasUSD2,400andtheBPOindustrywasUSD10,625.Table3:ComparingwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsectorwiththeIT/BPMsectorofSriLanka

Comparison Revenue per year(millions)

Employees Per employeecontribution

Nature ofwork

BPOIndustry USD850* 80,000* USD10,625 Full-timeWeb based digitallabourplatforms

USD18.7 7,800 USD2,400 Majoritypart-timers

SLASSCOMStrategydocument2016,https://slasscom.lk/sites/default/files/SLASSCOM%20Strategy%20Document%202016.pdf

5.2WhoisworkinginwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka?Anestimatednumberof17,000-22,000workersAtwo-foldapproachwasadaptedtoestimatethenumberofworkers inwebbaseddigitallabour platforms. Based on the conducted nationally representative survey, we identified22,000workers.Tofurthervalidatethis,wemanuallycalculatedtheregisteredSriLankansinwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsandconductedasurveyattheFreelancerSLeventandaskedthecurrentworkerswhoparticipatedintheeventinwhatplatformtheyworkin.Bythis, we identified 17,000workers in these platforms. Thismethodwas adapted because


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publicdatawasnotavailableonregisteredworkersin“Fiverr”platform.WeestimatedtheSriLankanworkersinthe“Fiverr”basedonits“Alexa”ranking.Therefore,basedonthesetwoapproaches,ourstudyestimates17,000-22,000workersinwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka.Annualgrowthof44%WeaskedtherespondentsofthenonrepresentativesurveyatFreelancerSL2.0eventwhenthey got themselves registered in these platforms. 44% of the respondents registeredthemselves during the last year. This response was further validated by Alexa rankings,wheretheincreaseuseofthesitewasevidentbytheincreaseoftheworldrankinSriLankaintheAlexawebsite.


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ProfileofFreelancersSuccessfulfreelancerswhoparticipatedinourresearchwerewithintheageof22-28years,predominantlymales and belonged to Socio Economic Classification14B & C.Most of theworkers studiedwere go-getters who intended to establish themselves at any cost. Theystated that theyareevenwilling tomigrate forbetterprospects.Workers livedwith theirparents or extended family, even though parents did not approve this kind of work. Theparentsoftherespondentsdidn’tunderstandthenatureofworkinvolvedinthissector.Theparents of female respondents were against them working in this field. But once theystarted earning, the parents didn’t oppose workers working in platforms because theysupported their families financially from theearnings from theseplatforms.Whenprobedaboutthesectorofemployment,theonlineworkersexpectedordida job intheITSectorwhilesomewereemployedinothersectors.Mostfreelancerswereworkingonwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsparttime.Whenweaskedtheworkerswhohavedayjobswhytheywork part time on platforms, they said that they arewilling towork extra hours utilizingtheir skills to increase their living standard. The successful Sri Lankanworkersworking inplatformswereentrepreneurs,theyweredeterminedandresponsible,hadgoodcustomerrelationshipmanagementskills,wereselfdisciplined,hasexcellenttimemanagement,wasconfidentofthemselvesandtheworkthattheydoandwasflexible.

14TheSocioEconomicClassification(SEC)ofHouseholdsisdefinedbytwinvariables(TheOccupationoftheMainEarner&theHighestExaminationpassedbytheMainEarner)


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PerceptionofworkersonwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsonemploymentprospectsanddoingworkonplatformsinSriLankaWorkersagreedthatthere isaskilledworkforce inSriLanka.ThiswasanadvantageofSriLankanstoworkonwebbaseddigitallabourplatforms.Theyfearedthattradeagreementswith India will negatively effect this BPO/BPMworkforce in Sri Lanka. There was also anagreementthatinordertogetajob/enteraprofession,connections/contactsorknowingtherightpeoplewasanadvantageinSriLanka.“WehavebestglobalfirmsinSriLanka.WehaveMITandVirtusainLanka.MITisregisteredintheLondonstockexchange.ButIhaveaconcerninsigningtheEconomicandTechnologyCooperationAgreement(ETCA)withIndia.WehaveaskilledITworkforceandwearetryingtobringIndianshere.Thisisachallengetous:Nuwan,25,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”“Oneofmypersonnel contact foundmethe jobattheUniversity. InSriLanka, ifyouhavegood contacts, you can find a job: Sampath, 26, Sec B, Part timeworker of aweb baseddigitallabourplatform”Introduction to working on web based digital labour platforms and the reasons to beinvolvedinonlineworkWorkerswereintroducedtoonlineworkbytheirrelatives,friends,colleaguesor lecturers.Then they started looking for information online and offline by usingGoogle search, blogpostsandadvertisementsonpaper.“Igot toknowaboutonlinework fromAmazonLanka paper ad. Iwentwithmydaughterandlistenedtoit.ThenItrieditoutonthecomputerbymyself: Gunawardana,48,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”“Igottoknowaboutitfromablogpost.Ithadstepbystep,howeverythinghastobedone.ThisblogpostwasdonebyaSriLankan.IgottoknowaboutFiverrthroughthis.IfollowedthesestepsandregisteredinFiverrandaddedagig:Sudesh,28,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”Mostworkersregisteredintheseplatforms2/3yearsagoandsomewereregisteredwithinlastyear.“I started working in 2011. One of my friends has an Internet card in Sampath bank. Hebringsstuffusingit.Hotoldmethathejustmakeanvideoanduploadit,thenmoneygoestohisPaypalaccountandheuseshispaypaltopurchasestuff.Therefore,notinthemotiveofearning, just to buy stuff I like, I started working online: Gayantha, 23, Sec B, Part timeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”Mostworkerswereworkingonplatformstoearnasecondaryincomesource.Theyagreedthattheyareattractedtothesenseoffreedomattachedtothistypeofwork.


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“Anyway,personallyIwassavingupforacomputer.SoIwantedtosaveabitofcashsothatIcangetit.SomyotherfriendhastoldShea(friendsname),andIcalledmyotherfriendandsomehow got in to it: Chapa, 25, Sec A, Part time worker of a web based digital labourplatform”SkillsofSriLankansRespondents agreed that Sri Lankans are all-rounders. The communication skills of SriLankansworking inweb based digital labour platformswere high.Most Sri Lankanswereinvolvedingraphicdesign,programmingandtechnicalskills.Someworkerswereinvolvedinonlinemarketingandresearch.NatureofworkdonebySriLankansThe time taken todoaparticular taskdependedon the typeofwork thatworkersdoonplatforms.Thetimemayvaryfrom10minutestoweeks.“10-15minutes:IdoITsupport.IearnaroundUSD10-15fromthistypeofwork:Nuwan,25,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”“1½-2hours:Idoonlinemarketing.1½-2hoursIcanfinish15USDproject:Sudesh,28,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”Mostonlinefreelancersdothisworkatnight,aftertheygohome.Thisisbecausetheirfulltime jobor educationneeds their attention8-5. Someworkers do thisworkduringofficetime,atoffice.They’vefoundjobsthatfacilitatethis.“Iwork at nightmost of the time. I go to university and come and do this work duringevenings.That’showIdo:Prabath,25,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”“Totellthetruth,Iactuallydon’tspentthatmuchofaneffortintothis.IdothisduringthefreetimeIhave.Idon’tdofreelancingworkafter4,5p.m.After4,Iplaygames.AndIdon’twork during the weekend as well. My income is with less effort: Rajika, 25, Sec A, ITadministrator”ReasonsforworkersfromSriLankatothriveinwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsSuccessfulworkerswere able tobuild relationshipswith their customers in platforms andstart working with them away from the platforms. Most workers targeted US/ UK andAustralian buyers while someworkers worked for any buyer. Specific targeting of buyersfrom theWestern countrieswas because theypay for thework done andbecause itwaseasytoworkwiththem.“I worked for a New Zealand customer. Then he came out of Fiverr and contacted medirectlyandIworkedwithhim:Dhanuka,26,SecB,Businessman”


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Someworkers in these platforms acted as themiddle person, they get the job from theplatform and outsourced it. We came across a few emerging businesses based on theseplatforms,whereregisteredratedsellersintheseplatformshireotherstodotheirworkandpaythemalowerratefortheworkdone.“Icreatedtheprofileandkept.Iwroteeverything.Itrytogetthejobmostofthetime.Igetthejobandgivesomeotherpersontodothejob:Dhanuka,26,SecB,Businessman”“Hehasasmall company and he has 4 employees.Hedoes logodesign.He charges150dollarsperlogo.Thatisthethingwithtopseller.Everyonecomestohim:Rajika,25,SecA,ITadministrator”Mostworkersweresatisfiedwiththeirincome.Duetotheadvantageofthehighexchangerateofthedollar,theirearningswerehigherthanthatofthepaymentsinlocalmarket.“Wecanlivefromthis,fromworkingontheplatform.Wecanearndoubleandtriplemorethan theypay in Lanka:Sudesh,28,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigital labourplatform”Workers found new methods to convert digital money to physical money. They createdPaypalaccounts inothercountriesand transferredmoney to theirSri Lankanaccounts,asPaypalisnotavailableasaserviceinSriLanka.“Iusepaypal. IhavecreatedaMalaysianaccount.It’sundermyname.Itsnotcounted.Itcomesunofficially,frombackchannels.Evenforme,althoughIgetmoneyfromaMalaysianaccount, sometimescommercialbanksask frommehowthismoneycame.Now its illegal,but I cangetmoney fromprivate banks from some loophole: Piyumi, 25, SecA, Part timeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”Workersemphasizedthebenefitsofflexibleworkinghoursasamajoradvantageofonlinework.Havingcontrolovertime(Workatnightfromhome/workduringofficehours/stayathomeandwork),abilitytoavoidrushhourtraffic,schedulingworkamongtheavailabletimewereafewbenefitstheymentioned.The freelancerswerenotexcellentor fluentusersofEnglish language.But they thrived inonlinefreelancing.Theysaidthatlanguagedoesn’tinfluenceworkingonline.“Wedon’tknowthatmuchofEnglish.Buttheysaywhattheywantandwecommunicatewiththem:Sudesh,28,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”5.3WhatarethechallengersfacedworkersindigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka?WorkingonfakesiteswiththehopeofgettingpaidattheendofthetaskThereweresomewhohadworkedonline,adclickfakesites inthehopeofgettingpaid inthe end. They didmonotonouswork formonths so that they got paid at the end of theassignedtasks.Wecameacrossastayathomemotherwhohasworkedonlineformonthsin


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a fakesite in thehopeofgettingpaidatendof the task.Herstory, inherownwordsarebelow:“Thenameofthissiteis2dollarclick.TheworkIdidinthissitewasadclick.Iworkedonthisfor6months.ItsaysthatUSD1,000 isaddedtomyPaypalaccount,butmyPaypalaccountdoesn’t showthisamount. Itmaybea issuewithwithdrawingmoney fromPaypal. I’mnotsure:Suneetha,29,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”LesssocialinteractionwhenworkingonlineWorkersemphasizedthattheyhavelesssocialinteractionaftertheystartedworkingonline.Somemadeuseof this to interactwith their friends and family (closer social circle)morewhereasothersdidn’tdoonlineworkbecauseofthisfactor.“Ihaveapositiveattitudetowardsonlinework.Butit’snotmypassion.So,Idoonlineworkas a part time job: Chapa, 25, Sec A, Part time worker of a web based digital labourplatform”“Thebestthingaboutonlinefreelancing is less interactionwith the society.Therefore,mymindisfreethanbefore.Ihavemoretimetoinvolveinactivitiesinmylocality:Lolitha,36,SecB,Fulltimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”OnlineworkplatformsarebiasedtowardsthebuyerTheworkerswhoarejuststartingtoworkintheseplatformssaythattheyreturnmoneytobuyerswhen the buyer’s rate them low inweb based digital labour platforms to retain agood ranking in theplatform.Also they stated that theplatforms favoursbuyersandbiastowardsthebuyer.“One customer didn’t like the work I did and he gave me a low rating. This affected myoverallrating.SoIrefundedhismoney.Weshouldbearthesetypesoflossesforsometimeuntilwereachuptoacertainlevelinplatforms:Nuwan,18,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”“This system is biased towards thebuyer. If I didn’t deliver agoodproduct, thebuyer cancancel.Ifweprovideagoodproductandifhecancelsit,wecancontactFiverrdirectly.IfyouarealevelIseller(entrylevel),theydon’tgetbacktoyouquickly:Malith,25-year,SecC,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”PowercutsinterruptcontinuesworkonlineLoad shedding was identified as a barrier to work online. Working online requires self-disciplinetodeliverworkontime.Whentheworkisnotdeliveredontime,customersgiveworkerslowratings.Theselowratingsaffecttheirprofileandtheirmarketabilityinthelongterm.“ThepowercutsinSriLankaareunannounced.It’sreallydifficultwhenwehavepowercuts.Thecustomersdon’tbelieveuswhenwesaythatwecan’tdeliverworkontimebecausewe


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havepower cuts. Thesearepeoplewhohavenever experiencedpower cuts in their entirelife:Sandun,25-year,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”JobsecurityandincomestabilityMostSriLankansinvolvethemselvesinonlineworkasparttimework.Thisisbecausetheyare reluctant to startworkingonline full time. They areunable toprove that theyhave asecurejobandthattheycanearnasteadyincome.ThebanksinSriLankadonotissueloansforonlineworkers.“Onlinefreelancersarenotgivenloansfromlocalbanks.ThefirstquestiontheofficersaskusiswhetherEPF/ETFisdeductedfromoursalary.Thisishowtheyunderstandwhetherwehaveastable jobornot.Theyrefuseto issueus loansbecausewedon’thaveastable job.Thisisnotthecaseinothercountries:Sampath,26,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”Apart fromthis, freelancersarenotassured that theseplatformswillbe there in the longrun.Therefore,theyopttoworkonlineparttimewithadayjob.“Theotherriskofworkingonlineis,ifsomethinghappenssomeday,ifanissuearise,sayitsbecause regulations of Sri Lanka, or because of some other reason, you might loseeverything all of a sudden. If thishappens, I’ll losemy income. In this context, if I haveasteadydayjob,withexperienceIcangoforanotherjob:Nuwan,25,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”OnlinepaymentmodesandinwardremittancePayPalinwardremittanceisnotallowedinSriLanka.Thiswasraisedasaconcernbysomeof the workers we interviewed. Some freelancers used the PayPal account, the moneyremitted to their PayPal accountbasedon thework theydid tobuygoodsonlineas theycannot cash out this money. Other workers found other payment methods such asPayoneer,Skrill,StripeandNetteller,whichenabledthemtocashoutthemoneythattheyearnedbyworkingonplatforms.


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Figure7:AvailablepaymentmodesforworkersworkingonwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka

HighcompetitionfromothercountriesThe low rates offered by sellers from other countries and fellow Sri Lankans and thecompetitionitgenerateswasemphasizedbyworkersinSriLanka.“Thetasks thatwere listed for100dollars I’vebidanddone for 5dollarsbecause ifnot Iwon’tgetthat job.Thisbrothersaidthat Indiansaredoing it.Even I’vedone it:Gayantha,23,SecB,Parttimeworkerofawebbaseddigitallabourplatform”LowInternetspeedanduplinkSriLankanworkersemphasizedtheneedforhighspeedInternetanduplink.“Weneeduplink.Mostprovidedownloadspeedbutuploadislow.Ifwehostawebsite,whatweneedisupload.It’sdifficulttodoithere:Dhanuka,26,SecB,Businessman”5.4WhatarethepossiblepolicymeasurestoovercomethesechallengesfacedbyworkersinwebbaseddigitallabourplatformsinSriLanka?CreatingawarenessononlinefreelancingamongyouthandlowersecSriLankansThisresearchfindingsshowsthatthereisapotentialforSriLankanstoworkinonlinedigitallabour platforms. To do this, awareness has to be increased among the youth. Also, the


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message on the availability and the possibility to involve in this type of work has to beconveyedtolowerSECSriLankans.Furthermore,SriLankanshastobemadeawareofonlineworkand freelancingusingmedia, target informationdisseminationmethodsand classes/trainingsandinformationsharingonsuccessstories.ChangingsocialperceptiononfreelancingjobsMostSriLankanslookforjobsecurity.Thesocietydoesnotaccepttheworkersofwebbaseddigitallabourplatforms.ThisperceptionhastobechangedtopopularizethistypeofworkinSri Lanka. This can be done usingmedia tomake aware the elderly community who areagainsttheirchildrenbeinginvolvedinthistypeofwork.BetterinwardpaymentmechanismtosecuretheearningofonlinefreelancersTheinabilitytocashoutthefundstransferredtothePayPalaccountfortheworkdonewasraised as a concern by current workers. Letting the current and potential workers knowabout available inward payment mechanisms to secure what they’ve earned online isimportant to build trust among these freelancers. This will also help and guide thefreelancersonwaystowithdrawmoneythey’veearnedonline.InsurancesolutiontoreduceearningvolatilityEarnings of freelancers are not insured and they are not provided any security based ontheir earnings. This makes potential workers reluctant to work online and keeps currentworkersfromworkingintheseplatformsfulltime.Innovativeideasonhowtoinsureincomefromonlineworkareimportanttoencourageworkerstoworkontheseplatforms.WaystodemonstratecreditworthinessEventhoughtheworkersearnafairincomefromworkingonline,localbanksdonotacceptthis incomeasaregular incomesourceandfreelancersarenotgivenbank loans.Workersraisethisasamainconcernbecausetheycannotborrowfrombanksshowingtheirincomefromonlinefreelancing.Eventhoughtheycanshowproofoftheirincome,theyarenotseenas credit worthy individuals. Therefore, policies has to be developed to accept onlineworkersascreditworthyindividualstoprovidethemwithaccesstocredit.6.0ConclusionThisarticleexploresthewebbaseddigitallabourplatformsofSriLankaandthechallengersfaced by the workers in these platforms. This research identifies work in platforms as afavourableemploymentoptionformanyskilled/semiskilledyouthofSriLanka.Therefore,itis important that theSriLankangovernmentandregulatoryauthorities facilitate thisworkby creating a favourable environment for online workers by providing them withuninterrupted work conditions such as informed load shedding, high speed internet andfavourable inward remmitancemechanisms. This will help the online workers to bring inlargeamountofforeignearningstoSriLankabyresidinginSriLankaandwill facilitatethedevelopmentofthecountryasawhole.


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7.0ReferencesATKearney. (2015).ATKearney-Media release: Emergingmarkets -where themoney is forAustralian companies. Retrieved May 15, 2016, from https://www.atkearney.com/news-media/-/asset_publisher/K7SJYfsn2kfb/content/sri-lanka-s-rank-for-it-bpm-jumps-to-16th-in-the-world/10192ATKearney. (2016). Global Services Location Index. Retrieved May 15, 2016, fromhttps://www.atkearney.com/strategic-it/global-services-location-indexBeerepoot,N.,&Branbegts, B. (2015). Competition inonline jobmarketplaces: towards agloballabourmarketforoutsourcingservices?GlobalNetworks,15(2).Central Bank of Sri Lanka. (2015-a ). STATISTICAL APPENDIX. Retrieved July 4, 2016, fromhttp://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/efr/annual_report/AR2015/English/17_Appendix.pdfCentralBankofSriLanka.(2015b).EconomicandSocialStatisticsofSriLanka2015.RetrievedJuly 4, 2016, fromhttp://www.cbsl.gov.lk/pics_n_docs/10_pub/_docs/statistics/other/econ_&_ss_2015_e.pdfDepartment of Census and Statistics. (2012). Census of Population and Housing, 2012.Retrieved May 13, 2016, fromhttp://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/CPH_2012_5Per_Rpt.pdfDepartmentofCensusandStatistics.(2015a).EducationStatistics,Chapter13,14http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2015/CHAP14/14.1_14.2.pdf. RetrievedMay13, 2016,fromhttp://www.statistics.gov.lk/pocket%20book/chap13.pdfDepartmentofcensusandstatistics. (2015b).ComputerLiteracyStatistics–2015 (First sixmonths). Retrieved May 13, 2016, fromhttp://www.statistics.gov.lk/samplesurvey/ComputerLiteracy-2015Q1-Q2-final.pdfDepartment of Census and Statistics (2015). Retrieved July 2, 2016, from Department ofCensusandStatistics-SriLanka,http://www.statistics.gov.lk/pocket%20book/chap13.pdfFuchs,C.(2013).Theorisingandanalysingdigitallabour:Fromglobalvaluechainstomodesofproduction.ThePoliticalEconomyofCommunication,1(2).Gamage, S., Wijesooriya, T. (2012, June 27). Retrieved July 2, 2016, from LIRNEasia,http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/HE-HEI_Survey2012June27_PPT.pdfGraham,M.,Hjorth,I.,&LehdonvirtaV.(2017).Digitallabouranddevelopment:impactsofglobal labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods. Transfer, DOI:10.1177/1024258916687250ICTworkforcerisesby50%since2010,NationalICTWorkforceSurvey2013reveals.(2014,May2).DailyFT.RetrievedMay15,2016,fromhttp://www.ft.lk/2014/05/02/ict-workforce-rises-by-50-since-2010-national-ict-workforce-survey-2013-reveals/


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