雅思词汇课文（33）· The Rights of Gig Workers 零工劳动者的权益

工作与法律主题，约 350 词，融入 30 个雅思核心词。

🎧 课文朗读音频（约 1 分钟）

📖 课文 Text

The Rights of Gig Workers

When Maria, a delivery rider in Madrid, is injured on her scooter, she has no sick pay. When Raj, a taxi driver in Toronto, works twelve-hour days, he has no minimum wage. When Wei, a freelance designer in Shanghai, finishes a project, she has no unemployment insurance. These workers are not unemployed; they are the fastest-growing segment of the modern workforce. They are gig workers.

The gig economy offers flexibility. Workers can choose their hours, work for multiple platforms, and be their own boss. For students, parents and retirees, this freedom is genuine. But flexibility is a two-edged sword. The same arrangement that allows people to set their own schedule also denies them job security, paid holidays and protection against unfair dismissal.

The legal struggle over how to classify gig workers has reached courts on every continent. In the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that Uber drivers are "workers", entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay. In California, voters approved Proposition 22, allowing app-based companies to classify drivers as independent contractors while providing limited benefits. The European Union's Platform Work Directive, adopted in 2024, creates a legal presumption that workers on digital platforms are employees.

Platform companies argue that reclassification will force them to raise prices, reduce flexibility and ultimately cut the very jobs that gig workers depend on. They point out that many riders and drivers value the ability to work whenever they choose.

Trade unions counter that the choice is illusory when workers have no alternative. They demand collective bargaining, safety regulation and contributions to social insurance.

The disagreement is not between flexibility and protection. It is between a model in which work is insecure by design and one in which the most vulnerable workers share in the prosperity they generate.

📝 生词表 New Words and Expressions

🧠 课文理解 Comprehension

1. The Supreme Court of the UK ruled in 2021 that Uber drivers are...

• A. self-employed with no rights
• B. "workers" entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay
• C. government employees
• D. unemployed

2. The EU Platform Work Directive creates...

• A. a ban on gig work
• B. a legal presumption that platform workers are employees
• C. higher taxes for platforms
• D. no protections

3. Platform companies argue that reclassification will...

• A. improve service
• B. raise prices, reduce flexibility and cut jobs
• C. have no effect
• D. increase profits

4. Trade unions say the choice of flexibility is illusory because...

• A. workers have no alternative
• B. workers don't want flexibility
• C. platforms are unprofitable
• D. laws are too strict

5. The writer frames the disagreement as between...

• A. cities and rural areas
• B. a model of insecure work and one where vulnerable workers share prosperity
• C. young and old workers
• D. men and women

✏️ 词汇练习 Vocabulary Practice

Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list. Change the form where necessary.

| segment / flexibility / security / entitle / presumption / illusory / vulnerable / prosperity |

1. The company targets the luxury ______ of the market.
2. Working from home offers greater ______ for parents.
3. Job ______ is rare in the gig economy.
4. Full-time workers are ______ to paid annual leave.
5. There is a legal ______ of innocence until proven guilty.
6. The promise of quick riches proved ______.
7. Elderly people are particularly ______ to flu.
8. The country enjoyed a period of unprecedented ______.

✅ 答案 Answers

Comprehension

1. B　2. B　3. B　4. A　5. B

Vocabulary

1. segment　2. flexibility　3. security　4. entitled　5. presumption　6. illusory　7. vulnerable　8. prosperity