Cooperate to futureproof freelancers
Muhammad Ammir Haron1.
There is increasing interest in the gig economy and its popularity as a viable career profession, especially among the youth. However, at the same time, there is indifference by the youth to joining cooperatives in Malaysia, and if left unchecked, it may lead to its eventual demise. This concept paper proposes attracting youth participation in cooperatives by remodelling platform cooperatives to protect and promote the interests of freelancers. Utilising secondary data from the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission Survey in 2018, the co-operators’ age composition reveals the need for more youth involvement. In conclusion, cooperatives can futureproof freelancers’ fate, which in turn offers much-needed youth reinvigoration to the cooperative sector. Equally important, as the gig workers’ labour force will only grow further, the author recommends safeguarding their interests through freelancer cooperatives as the key to a sustainable gig economy.
Affiliation:
- Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN), Malaysia
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