anchor: flexibility. it sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? if you're flexible, then you can fit in with changing demand, take on different roles, rise to different challenges. but is "flexible" becoming little more than a euphemism for "dispensable"? welcome to "global 3000," where this week, we're investigating the uncomfortable realities of the modern workplace. zero hours, zero guarantees --controversial employment contracts in the u.k. driven to distraction -- self-employed couriers get a raw deal in the u.s.

and of bulls and bees -- everyday survival in ethiopia's sheka forest. ♪ a zero-hours contract. work zero hours, and get paid anyway. yes, please! sadly, however, it does not actually work like that. in reality, zero-hours contracts, of which there are currently around 1.5 million in the u.k., mean that employees have to keep themselves available in return for no guaranteed hours, no guaranteed salary, no guaranteed employment, which goes some way to explaining why so many britons are struggling to make ends meet, despite the lowest unemployment figures since the global recession began. welcome to life in the u.k. have you got your cv ready? because we are off to the job center.

reporter: despite low unemployment figures, it's "all go" at this central london job centre, even on an average weekday. for many people, short-term contracts with minimum wage have become the new normal. >> i've been offered a warehouse job with a zero-hour contract before, but i never took it up. >> most of the jobs now are short-term contracts. there's hardly any long-term contracts offered anymore. by "short-term," i mean about two to three months in duration. reporter: the lucky ones find a job in one of the many coffee chains -- for low pay and no guarantee of a basic salary. james stribley has his own experience with zero-hour contracts. he works as a doorman at a security company. >> you don't know until the monday morning what hours you are working that week, maybe the friday before. and you can't plan anything. some weeks, they only want you for a few hours. other weeks, it could be 50 hours plus. reporter: sue patel works in a supermarket. although she has regular hours, she only earns 9 euros an hour.

it's hardly enough to live on in an expensive city like london. >> my wages completely goes on my rent. we survive on my husband's wages for the rest of what we have. we don't go out for a meal, don't go to cinema, don't go we anywhere where it's costing us to get an entrance fee because we just can't afford it. reporter: the british economy is on the mend, though. in the past year, it grew by almost 3%. but it's mostly the rich who are profiting. altogether, their income increases by over 100 million euros every day, according to the organization "equality trust." they're calling for fairer economic distribution. but employers' organizations say the recovery from the u.k.'s financial crisis is mainly down to the deregulated jobs market. >> zero-hours contracts in the u.k. have definitely acted as an employment stabilizer. during the downturn and the fragile recovery, they gave

employers the flexibility that they needed in order to respond to demand or to counter against uncertainty. reporter: but employees want to see an end to this lack of job security because the economy is finally growing. x good morning. -- >> good morning. reporter: james stribley is involved in the union and is campaigning against zero-hours contracts. >> we need jobs that pay. our members don't want to rely on benefits. at the moment, millions of people in britain are trapped in this revolving door of benefits, whether they are in work or out of work. 90% of new housing-benefit claimers are actually in work. and that's because they are on zero-hours working. reporter: but it seems all employers are reluctant to give up their flexibility. even buckingham palace has started handing out zero-hours contracts. anchor: just a few clicks on my smartphone, and i've arranged for someone to do my ironing or walk my dog. i don't fancy cooking tonight? not a problem. i can get my dinner delivered to my door.

i probably won't even have to enter my credit-card details because the platform i'm using has saved them. but how does the "on-demand economy" really work? we've been taking a look. ♪ reporter: from extra school tutoring to help in the garden or shopping, these days all , manner of services are just a click away today. and thanks to the on-demand economy, the global online-services sector is continuing to grow. in 2014, it reached over 720 billion euros, a 20% increase over the previous year. the on-demand economy means cheaper services for customers. getting a cleaner for your apartment from german online service "helpling" costs 12 euros 90 an hour -- below the average wage for cleaners in the formal economy in germany. all on-demand companies do is put the platform online. then an app puts customers in touch with the relevant service

provider. thanks to the minimal infrastructure required by companies, the on-demand economy is efficient. transportation, cleaning utensils, and lawn mowers and the like are provided by members themselves. plus, on-demand platforms have no incidental labor costs. the service providers pay any taxes and insurance. with commission deducted for the intermediary, a cleaner ordered via helpling earns 10 euros 32. any health-care costs for injuries on the job are covered by the cleaners themselves. in the u.s., over 50 million people now earn a living as freelancers and contingent workers -- one third of the working population. anchor the internet economy had : its beginnings in the san francisco bay area, which was dubbed "silicon valley" as a

result. no surprise then to find that san francisco is a city where the on-demand economy is booming. take the web-based courier platform postmates, for example. customers can't get enough of this handy service, which enables them to connect with freelance couriers around the city. the couriers themselves, however, have a rather more ambiguous relationship with the platform. reporter every day is "take your : dog to work day" for lucia. >> hey, honey, how are you doing? good dog. reporter: lucia wara-gross is a courier. the next job pops up on her smartphone and off she goes to downtown san francisco. she uses her own car to deliver restaurant meals or grocery shopping to customers. but lucia's not permanently employed. she's an independent businesswoman. this ice is for a company party, and she's in a hurry, not just because it'll melt, but because she gets a flat rate per delivery. her orders come via delivery

company postmates, who say their couriers can earn up to $25 an hour. >> i make between $6 and $10 an hour. so in san francisco, where minimum wage is, i make less -- is $12.50, i make less than the minimum wage. reporter: she needs to get a five-star review from every customer, and she finds the pressure stressful. >> if you have a 4.7 or less, you can't do the job. >> they fire you? >> yes. reporter: the customers also decide how much she earns. she lives off tips because the money from postmates only covers the cost of her car. >> i have to pay for gas, $20 a day. i have to pay for car insurance.

it's $100 a month. and i have a car payment, which is about $268 a month. reporter: bill hansen is taking on the other end of the street. >> you have arrived at your destination. reporter: he's been working as a courier for postmates for three months. he likes the independence and only works at lucrative times of day. it's a second job for him. but today is full of problems. this address is a building site. there is no one here to take the delivery. >> the fee is calculated on distance, so as i just learned on an earlier job today it takes , two hours, it is still 6 bucks. if they don't respond or cancel the order then i have to email , the city manager to get paid. you don't get automatically paid. you have to ask for it. reporter: he never knows what's coming, and he's not allowed to turn down orders.

>> even though they have given you a job that you weren't aware that it's that low-paying and time-consuming job, and if you ask for a reassign, they still reserve the right to suspend you from the platform. it's totally set up in their favor and completely not fair. reporter: postmates is a growing company and is already active in 26 u.s. cities with an army of courier drivers. but because they're not permanently employed, the company doesn't cover extra costs, like insurance. and for every order, 20% goes straight into postmates' pockets. when asked for an interview, nobody was available to comment. delivery services like these have seen a boom in rich cities like san francisco, and they create jobs for thousands of new independent suppliers. bill hansen doesn't live solely from his courier job, but he say many others have to.

>> if you are requiring three or four different platforms or different companies to make it a livable wage if that becomes a , new standard by which we create business models, that's the part that concerns me about this stuff. >> what is so bad about it? >> i do not know. do you want to wake up every morning having three jobs? i don't think anyone does. reporter after five hours and : four orders, lucia leaves san francisco. she lives in a small town outside the city, and she's training to be a social worker. but does she see a future with postmates? >> no way! why would i -- why would i stay with postmates when i got a proper job? it just doesn't make sense. reporter bleak prospects for : jimmy the dog, then. if lucia gets a proper job, he might be stuck home alone. anchor: better a dog's life for the dog than for it's owner. now, to the employees and employers of the future.

it's time to check in with this week's millennium teen. her name is christina, and she is from berlin, germany. like the other young people featured in this series, christina was born in the year 2000, making her the same age as the u.n.'s millennium goals. ♪ >> i am millennium. ♪ >> a woman came by today to tell us about the u.n. millennium goals, exactly what they are, why they were set, and whether they will be met. -- whether they have been met.

♪ >> my name is christina claridge, and i live in berlin, germany. ♪ i listen to a range of different musical styles. but my favorite is pop from the 1990's. ♪ i really like it. love, but not necessarily romantic love. above all love between friends and family, when you have people you know will always be there to listen to you.

♪ ♪ i think one global problem today is definitely that not everyone has equal opportunities. someone from a lower social class has fewer opportunities to achieve things in his or her country than someone from a higher social class. i would like to travel more and experience of lots and accumulate wonderful memories so that when i look back i can feel proud and have no regrets. ♪

anchor: not only do trees protect soil from erosion and take carbon dioxide out of the air, they also provide rich habitats in which different species of animal, bird, and insect can flourish. one such sylvan habitat is to be found in ethiopia, on the horn of africa. the sheka forest is one of ethiopia's largest and last remaining tropical forests. in order to ensure its survival, clan leaders, the local community, and the local government have come together to find sustainable ways of living with, and from, the forest. ♪ >> human beings couldn't survive without forests. our food comes from the forest. we use the wood for our homes, and the animals live there, too.

every human being has a responsibility to protect the forest. reporter descending into the : magical heart of the sheka tropical forest home to the , unique birds of the sheksheko fall. these birds can be found nowhere else, explains teacher melaku arjeto, only here at this cave next to the waterfall. the kerero tree, found only in ethiopia, also grows here extensively. >> the forest is very important for the people. everyone breathes the fresh air it gives. without it, people wouldn't exist. >> if there is no forest, there is no water. if there is no forest, there is no good climatical condition and no rain. they will keep, and they

translates for them childrens. reporter the sheka forest is : vast, covering more than 2300 square kilometers in southwest ethiopia. it is one of the country's last remaining greenbelts. the area is home to many rare and threatened species. [birds chirp] reporter there is a "core zone" : that is specially protected. and a "development zone." this area includes masha, the largest town in the region, home to 50,000 people. and population numbers are growing. the sheka forest is designated by unesco as a global biosphere reserve. the development zone, which makes up roughly half the area, is supposed to be used in a sustainable way. but more and more forest is being cleared to make way for farming. >> we're in regular contact with the authorities. we're doing our best to protect

the forest. reporter beehives offer one : alternative source of income. the ethiopian aid organization melca bought the hives and began offering local farmers training in beekeeping. the program is partly funded by the international climate initiative. >> by that process, the communities came out of the forest, and they are working together. and what is the advantage of this working? if they are starting the modern beehives as a group, most of the trees cannot be cut. >> thanks to the honey that we sell, we can buy clothes for our children and books for their schooling. we can pay our taxes and make our homes better. reporter: tea plantations are another source of income here. in the past, huge areas of forest were cleared for the plantations, but these days, that's not allowed.

still, compromises often have to be made. this coffee plantation, belonging to an investor from saudi arabia, covers 10 square kilometers. a town has grown up on the plantation. a lot of people have found work here, including 21-year-old mesert. he earns the equivalent of 40 euros a month, a fairly average wage in ethiopia. coffee plants like shady conditions, so the forest doesn't need to be cleared. x -- >> a representative from the forest protection authority assures us the project is both sustainable and environmentally friendly. but he, too, admits compromises have to be made. >> when the shade is high and when it has effect on productivity, they have to deduct some trees to get balanced productivity and protection of the ecosystem.

reporter the lula tree is on the : list of endangered species. this one stands in the garden of dakito atestata, a respected clan leader. those who come to listen to him keep a respectful distance. the authority that he exercises plays an important role in helping to protect the forest. anyone who cuts down a tree without permission must pay with an ox. the lula tree is sacred to the people here and used in prayer rituals. cutting it down would be out of the question. >> our holy places have existed for many generations. they were chosen by our ancestors. we go there to pray for rain and for a good harvest. they are places where the gods listen to us. reporter: the core zone of the forest is specially protected. no one is allowed to clear trees here.

still, some local people do cut down trees for firewood, to earn some extra income. there just isn't sufficient dead wood to cover the need for cooking. the menja minority were long despised, as they lived in the forest and ate monkey meat. they weren't allowed to have fields. so they cut down trees to make charcoal instead. here too, the aid organization melca is helping. they bought bulls for the menja, to get them started in farming. the bulls are fattened up, sold , and the profit invested to buy more bulls. >> i'm strong, and i work very hard. and now we are better accepted by society. reporter the people of sheka : live in the forest and from the forest. and that's the only way to ensure it remains protected.

>> if our holy places are destroyed and the trees felled, life can't continue. without rain, there'll be no harvest. it would be the beginning of the end. anchor: and smaller stakes are involved now as we turn to global snack. what is the link between rain, pancakes cinnamon buns from the , usa, and a hot pot from thailand? the answer is you, viewers! you sent us pictures of your favorite snack, and you can keep doing it, and you will until we say, "stop, we are full quote something, by the way, which you're very unlikely to hear in this particular eating establishment in vietnam. ♪ reporter: this is vietnam's answer to venice. the ca mau region, crisscrossed by countless river courses. this is a city of fishermen,

merchants, and artists. here, a musician entertains market vendors and gets a reward. every day, sellers at the stands offer a wide variety of fruits, seafood, and poultry. so fresh it almost walks away. and right at the heart of it all is mig wan's stand. >> half a year ago, i closed my cafe on the outskirts of the city and opened a restaurant here in the market. lots of vendors come to me, and sometimes even tourists. reporter early in the morning, : she cooks pork in caramelized sugar. that makes the pork sweet. after two hours, she adds hard-boiled duck eggs and more sugar. tik hot to is what mig wan calls the snack she makes. it all simmers together till it's nice and brown.

after all, it has to look good as well as taste good. mig wan sells a portion of tik hot to for about a euro. it's very filling. >> my pork dish is very popular here. i serve it with rice and pickles. people love to eat it, because it is nice and sweet, and it's easy to eat. reporter mig wan sells about 80 : portions a day. many vietnamese people eat breakfast or lunch at stands like this. the pickles give mig wan's snack its special taste. and how do her customers like it?

>> i like to eat it. the combination of pork and duck eggs is unique and delicious. reporter: mig wan also has a few tables for guests who have time to sit down. >> it's so wonderfully sweet. >> great. reporter the snack is eaten with : a spoon, rather than chopsticks. that's unusual in vietnam. most of her customers have to rush back to their own stands, so mig wan also sells her tik hot to to go. anchor go to our facebook page : to share your ideas for global snack. now, time to end the show before my tummy rumbles. thank you very much for watching, and goodbye. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ wwññññññññññññññññññññññññ1

>> my name is kennedy kagiso kalo. >> my full name is kennedy, the other name is senegal. >> kennedy malibusha. he gave me this name because he wanted me maybe to live like a king. >> my name is robert kennedy