Author: Martijn Arets (Website - LinkedIn - Twitter)
Once familiar with the WageIndicator Foundation, you will see its work everywhere. For almost 25 years, this foundation has been working from the conviction that all workers, employers, and institutions should have access to the correct information about income and rights. WageIndicator is committed to the belief that transparency leads to fairer gains and good working conditions.
WageIndicator is an international organization for which hundreds of people work. They all do so remotely from their native countries. They collect, analyze, and share information on wages, minimum wage, living wage, living income, living tariff, labor laws, gig and platform work, collective agreements (CBAs), and more. What started with an inclusive online Loonwijzer in the Netherlands has grown to more than 200 websites with labor market information across 208 countries. By 2021, the websites together had more than 40 million visitors.
At her home in Bussum, I meet Paulien Osse, the co-founder of WageIndicator. In the latest episode of The Gig Work Podcast, she tells the story of this quirky organization.
The story can be listened to as an episode of the Gig Work Podcast.
Salary check only for white men: 'Could be better'
Osse is a journalist by origin. Early in her career, she mainly wrote about poetry, literature, and theatre; later, she found socio-economic topics more interesting. She traveled the world searching for stories, especially in Southern Africa, Latin America, and Turkey.
The wage gap between men and women was much wider 25 years ago than now, Osse says. "I always got less for a story or photo than male journalists," she says. "And the inequality was even worse in the countries I visited."
The inspiration for Loonwijzer came from Intermediair's existing Salary Compass in the Netherlands. "At the time, that only applied to white middle-class men," Osse says. "That could be better."
She was working for the Dutch trade union FNV on a membership information website at the time. She convinced the union that an inclusive salary check was a good fit for it. Together with scientist Kea Tijdens from the University of Amsterdam, she collected data and built Vrouwenloonwijzer.nl. Later it became Loonwijzer.nl, a website with work and wage information for everyone. Because Loonwijzer.nl is only good and could grow independently, they thought developing it further in a separate foundation outside the union was smarter.
Paulien osse, co-founder of WageIndicator
'Almost' worldwide
"We now have websites in hundreds of countries," Osse says. She is strict on the facts: WageIndicator Foundation operates 'almost' worldwide. Only a few countries still need to be included. "Growing was not easy, as we had no money for a long time," she says. "We were often tipped to focus on richer countries, where we would find lenders more easily. But that was exactly what we did not want, and I am glad we always stuck to that point of view. After all, even in poorer countries, people need information on income and labor law."
WageIndicator even has information on North Korea and all regions of China and Russia, she proudly explains. "We want to be inclusive. We mean it."
How do you build such a huge international network? Osse gets that question often, and she has no golden tip. It almost came naturally, she says. "I was an international journalist, so I already had a network in several countries. The university and the unions brought their international contacts."
'We don't have to see and smell each other'
People love working for WageIndicator, and those who start working for the foundation once stay involved for a long time. Nearly 300 employees are working in more than 100 countries. It is a mix of full-timers, part-timers, and students. There is no bureaucracy, and the input of interns is valued as much as that of veterans.
It is a fun, quirky organization, and I have been on the team for over twenty years. "There is a creative atmosphere," says Osse. "Everyone loves making and working together. If you want help or information, you get a quick response." Everyone works remotely, and perhaps that is the secret, says Osse. "We don't have to see and smell each other. As a result, maybe we tolerate and appreciate our colleagues longer."
From minimum to living wage
WageIndicator started with information on salary, labor laws, and minimum wage. But for some 80% of the world's population, a minimum wage is not enough to live on, Osse knows. That is why, since 2014, the organization also publishes the living wage. "That is the income someone needs to have a house, enough to eat, and maybe a bicycle," she says. "It is the minimum salary for a decent living."
But not everyone gets a salary from a boss. That is why WageIndicator also calculates a ‘living income,’ a living wage for entrepreneurial families who own a shop or farm, for example.
Third category: living tariff for platform workers
"Besides employees and entrepreneurs, there is another growing group of workers: gig workers or platform workers," says Osse. "They do not work for a permanent employer but are not traditional entrepreneurs. They work by the minute or by the hour rather than by the month. With their way of working comes another kind of income: the 'living tariff'"
Platform companies themselves came to WageIndicator asking for a living tariff, Osse says. "They want to pay decently but don't know how. It is also more complicated than calculating a living wage. What a minimum livable hourly rate varies from person to person and situation to situation. It has to do with factors such as type of work, number of workable hours, pension, and necessities such as a bike, laptop, or computer."
'The joy is in the creation'
WageIndicator developed the living tariff for the Dutch market and is now developing it together with German GIZ for Indonesia, Pakistan, and Kenya. "We especially want to investigate under which conditions such a rate is usable for workers and platform companies," says Osse. “We aim to publish a living tariff for 155 countries by the end of this year."
Osse stresses that the information on living wages, income, and tariffs does not necessarily stem from a mission to improve the world. "The joy is creation. We want to create something useful of good quality. If by doing so, we help people on their way to fair remuneration, that's cool."
'Not all platform workers are badly off'
Osse clearly sees the political debate on self-employed workers and platform work. "The government and unions are trying to force platform workers into a straitjacket, but that is not the solution," she says. "Not all platforms are crooks, and not all platform workers are worse off. Just really listen to them. They don't want to be employed; they want the freedom to work where, for whom, and when they want. Help them with measures to match that." She hopes the living tariff can contribute to the political debate.
“I am working on this project, and I expect even greater impact from this project outside than within the platform economy. Platforms tend to 'formalize' an existing market, like home cleaning and delivery. This rate also applies to many workers who do not work through platforms. After all, how clients and contractors find each other is irrelevant to a rate.
Conclusion
WageIndicator's story is inspiring in many ways. The foundation is all about serious business - data and income. That requires a solid structure, but it is not hierarchical or rigid. Cooperation is creative and enjoyable, and there is plenty of room for initiative. The concrete system behind the scenes allows for experimentation.
While many organizations wait to innovate until someone else says it is permitted or pays the bill, WageIndicator works the other way around. The foundation has found a way to develop new projects in such a way that they contribute to the big picture and, in turn, generate new commissions and collaborations. This unusual way of working attracts the very attention of partners who fit the foundation.
WageIndicator is ambitious and down-to-earth. Everyone still works with one goal: worldwide transparency for workers, employers, and policymakers. A topic that is more than relevant in the current labor market debate.