Thousands of exploited microworkers earn less than 5 euros per hour

According to a survey published this Saturday by the think tank Autonomy and relayed by The Guardian, thousands of UK-based “digital microworkers” are paid less than £4 an hour, or around €4.64. However, since April 1, 2022, the gross hourly minimum wage for employees over the age of 23 is 11.47 euros across the Channel.

Simple and daunting tasks

According to researchers from the University of Exeter and the London School of Economics, who carried out this survey, microworkers generally perform simple tasks such as identifying and captioning images with the aim of facilitating artificial intelligence operations, increasing digital traffic by clicking on advertisements or data entry.

This unregulated work has exploded on the internet with the pandemic, as people are forced to work from home. According to the survey of 1,189 UK-based microworkers, nearly two in three said they earned less than £4. 95% believe they are paid less than the UK minimum wage.

Unregulated frameworks

According to our colleagues, most microworkers in the world come from India, Kenya and Venezuela. They are millions. But in an inflationary environment, some Britons too are attracted by these meager salaries.

After the publication of this investigation, the research director at Autonomy called on the British government to identify companies that are guilty of exploiting thousands of microworkers by paying them well below the minimum wage, without providing them with protection. or regulated framework.