Ten Minutes On… New Zealand’s Uber Ruling and Gig Workers’ Prospects

In this Ten Minutes On... episode, host Guy Burton examines New Zealand’s recent Supreme Court ruling on Uber drivers — an important moment in a much wider global debate over gig-worker rights. We place the decision alongside key cases in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia to show how courts and regulators are grappling with the same questions: employment status, platform power, and worker protections. We also look at California’s Proposition 22 and the tens of millions spent by platforms to shape public opinion and policy. Bringing in historical parallels with earlier waves of precarious labour, the episode explores what these rulings — taken together — signal about the future of work, the gig economy’s business model, and the politics unfolding around them. This ten-minute briefing is designed to help listeners make sense of a fast-changing global landscape.