Ahmed Jama was fatally stabbed near Gaymead in the Abbey Estate in Abbey Road, Kilburn

THE shocking stabbing of Ahmed Jama – reportedly on shift delivering parcels at the time of his death – raises important questions about the safety of gig economy workers.

Whether delivering food, parcels or groceries, these “independent contractors” are always on the move, rushing around the city in an attempt to meet near-impossible targets set by employers who bear little to no responsibility for their welfare.

People in “standard employment” – stable, full-time work secured by a contract – have the right to sick pay, trade union membership and redundancy pay, among other protections. These rights are not enjoyed by those in precarious work.

And while gig economy work is often pitched by unscrupulous employers as an opportunity for workers to benefit from the flexibility and autonomy denied to people in stable work, the reality for those on the ground is often very different.

Time and again the informal economy has served as a way for companies to subject workers to their authority without assuming responsibility for their wellbeing or safety.

The current system allows employers to falsely categorise their workers as “self-employed” or “independent contractors”. This has proven an effective way to bypass the duty of care employers traditionally owe those who work for them.

In the past decade, delivery drivers across the country have been beaten, mugged, stabbed or else killed in fatal road accidents while on shift. Such incidents of violence are not freak tragedies but rather sadly foreseeable symptoms of a warped employment system.

Things are changing – though not as quickly as some campaigners would like. In 2021, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than self-employed contractors in a case that has wide-reaching implications for gig economy workers across the country.

But delivery drivers are still employed by companies on a “flexible” basis, a form of employment billed as being perfect for those who live an “on-the-go-lifestyle.”

The logic of the free market means full-time, steady jobs are becoming a thing of the past. Instead increasing numbers of people are turning to insecure, piecemeal work to make ends meet.

Reassuringly lawyers, economists and sociologists have a number of proposals that could shift the dial. One suggestion is to define an employer as an entity that provides work – any business providing work would be obliged to fulfil certain duties of care for their employees.

More radical suggestions include breaking the link between work and income, through the introduction of systems such as Universal Basic Income. Propo­nents argue this would tilt the balance of power in favour of workers, who could sell com­panies their labour out of genu­ine choice and not necessity.