Diagnostic on Working Conditions and Social Protection Coverage in Digital Labour Platforms in Armenia

Request for Proposals (RFP):

Title: Diagnostic on Working Conditions and Social Protection Coverage in Digital Labour Platforms in Armenia (2025)

Objective: The International Labour Organization is seeking the support of a qualified service provider to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic of working conditions and social security in digital labour platforms in Armenia.

Application process: Interested candidates are invited to submit their expression via e-mail to hovhannisyan@ilo.org and pesole@ilo.org and quoting “Platform Work Survey 2025 in the Armenia.” 

Submissions deadline: All submissions should be received by the 05 March 2025.

Application requirements:

• Technical: A detailed proposal outlining key considerations based on the ToRs, including the timeline for the different phases of the project.
• CV/Portfolio: relevant experience and qualifications of the team members.
• Financial proposal: A comprehensive budget for the project.

Service provider qualifications:

• Proven experience in conducting surveys in Armenia; 
• In-depth knowledge of the socio-economic context of Armenia;
• Expertise in the field of decent work in the platform economy.

Terms of reference: 

Diagnostic on Working Conditions and Social Protection Coverage in Digital Labour Platforms in Armenia

1. Background

The growth of digital labour platforms has been a transformative force in the global economy, reshaping traditional employment structures and creating new opportunities for workers across various sectors. Over the past decade, the advancements in technology and the increased internet accessibility fuelled the rise of digital platforms globally. These platforms organise and facilitate the matching of workers with tasks, either remotely or in specific geographic locations, enabling individuals to offer services ranging from software development and graphic design to transportation and delivery. 

The global market for digital platform work has grown exponentially. However, the lack of an internationally agreed definition of digital labour platforms and agreed measurement criteria rendered different figures from official surveys on the prevalence of platform work, ranging from 0.5 per cent in Chile to 4 per cent of total employment in the Philippines, following the methodology and definitions used in the estimation. According to the World Bank, about 154 million and 435 million active workers are on online platforms, and the European Union estimates that 28 million people in the EU work on or through a digital labour platform and the number is expected to reach 45 million people by 2025.

Platform work in Armenia is a relatively recent but growing phenomenon, reflecting global trends in the digital labour market. Recent estimates report that between 15,000 to 20,000 workers engaged in work in transportation and delivery services and that around 3,000 Armenian workers are active on global online platforms as of 2024. However, those figures are derived from secondary sources and the actual number of workers engaging in platform work may be much higher due to underreporting and the informal nature of many platform jobs, reiterating the need of a survey to better understand the prevalence and characteristics of platform work.

This growth has been particularly pronounced in sectors like IT, creative industries, and logistics, where digital platforms are streamlining the hiring process and expanding the reach of both workers and employers. At the same time, digital labour platforms are also significantly transforming labour processes and reshaping the way work is organized and performed, raising concerns about decent work

The objective of this work is to make available new evidence to contribute to the national policy dialogue regarding work on digital labour platforms. 

2. Scope of work

The service provider will provide empirical evidence on working conditions and social protection in platform work in Armenia by designing and conducting a survey and focus group. The service provider will also draft an analytical report and a PowerPoint presentation on key findings.

     a. The survey 

The survey must comprise a sample of platform workers, including a minimum of 500 delivery riders, 500 platform taxi drivers and 500 online platform workers. The aim of the survey is to collect information about platform workers working conditions and access to social protection by type of service provided. The service provider would propose the methodology and geographical coverage in its technical offer. The provider will submit data in the specific format required by the ILO for subsequent data processing and interpretation. 

More specifically, the service provider is expected to carry out the following:

1. Questionnaire development: The service provider will design a questionnaire of approximately 30 questions, based on input from the ILO and in collaboration with the ILO team, to capture information on the current situation in the platform economy in Armenia. The questionnaire will include specific questions on workers, including:

   i. Socio-demographic info (age, sex, education, etc)

   ii. Status in employment and access to work (i.e. other jobs, permit to work, use of intermediary, etc)

   iii. Working conditions by task performed (working hours, remuneration, job quality indicators, etc.)

   iv. Access to forms of social security (employment/accident insurance, social contributions, etc)

   v. Social dialogue/trade unions communications and awareness

2. Pilot and cognitive testing of the questionnaire: The service provider will conduct pilot and cognitive tests of the questionnaire to see the feasibility and accessibility to workers. Following the above testing, the questionnaire is to be reviewed with the specialists at the ILO and finalized based on the outcomes of the pilot survey. 
3. Translation of the questionnaire: The service provider will translate the questionnaire into Armenian.
4. Field implementation: The service provider will conduct the survey of the workers, according to the methodology proposed by the service provider and agreed by the ILO team. The final sample should reach at least 500 delivery riders, 500 platform taxi drivers, 500 online platform workers. Any departure from these numbers should be agreed with the ILO. The ILO will provide the respondent contacts from tripartite partners, to facilitate where possible data collection.

5. Submission of data and analysis: Submission of data and analysis: The survey data collected should be cleaned and provided to the ILO in a specific format (to be communicated later) for subsequent processing and analysis.

   b. The focus group

The focus group must address only migrant platform workers, in a minimum number of 30 workers, as much as possible distributed along the three types of services as above in the survey. The aim of the focus group is to understand better the role of intermediaries in access to work for migrant workers and the specificity in working conditions associated to their status. The interviews must be based on lists of semi-structured questions adapted to each group and agreed with the ILO team.

     c. Interviews

The service provider should also conduct interviews with selected stakeholders, including relevant Ministries and authorities at decentralized level (for instance at Municipal level) and social partners. The interview can also include representatives of employers’ organizations and platforms. 

The list of interviews will be jointly prepared with the ILO. The objective is to understand the views of the different groups in relation to the main challenges and opportunities related with work on digital labour platforms, their views in relation to policy and regulatory priorities.

    d. Report writing

The service provider will draft the analytical report and PowerPoint presentation on the key findings and share with the ILO for feedback. The report should be no longer than 70 pages excluding annexes. The service provider shall propose a structure of the report and must be agreed with the ILO team before preparing the draft and final versions of the report in English.

Below an indicative possible structure:

• Background of the Study (including an introduction to the economic and labour market context in Armenia, existing relevant legal framework, and existing information on work on digital labour platforms[1])
• Methodology and limitations 
• Findings on the survey results
• Policy conclusions and recommendations 

The service provider will also be responsible for the translation of the Report in Armenian.

A short section might be added with relevant policy/regulatory examples from other countries. This information will be provided to the service provider by ILO experts.

   e. Dissemination

The service provider should be available to present the findings to social partners and to participate in one tripartite event. 

4. Deliverables

The service provider should provide the following outputs:

• Questionnaire (in English and Armenian)Data in the format specified by ILO
• Draft Outline 
• Draft Report 
• Final Report (in English and Armenian)
• PPT with presentation (in English and Armenian) 

3. Timeframe

The assignment is expected to start on March 2025 and be ready by September 2025.

4. Roles, reporting, and specific clauses

The service provider will report to Nune Hovhannisyan (ILO National Coordinator in Armenia) and Annarosa Pesole, Labour Market Institutions Specialist (INWORK, ILO Geneva). Other technical specialists from the ILO DWT and Country Office in Moscow will be involved in the process.

Throughout the course of this assignment, the service provider will remain in regular exchange with the ILO for coordination and follow-up. 

All data and information received from the ILO for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference.

All outputs, including the information collected, the final datasets, and the contact information for respondents in the final sample, are property of the ILO.