Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy

Beschreibung

“This book examines empirical realities in different areas of the world, suggesting that while each country exhibits specific singularities and particularities, a broader, paradoxical process of homogenization is underway, particularly affecting migrant workers: the intensification of labor exploitation and precarization. It also suggests that we are witnessing the rise of new struggles and forms of resistance. This reveals that the evolving morphology of labor is giving rise to a new morphology of social struggles.” — Ricardo Antunes, State University of Campinas, Brazil. This book explores the gig economy and the role of migrant workers, which has been widely documented, but under-researched. In the last forty years, work and employment, in the advanced economies, has undergone profound transformations and, more recently, a key role has been played by the development of platform capitalism and the gig economy as a way of organising work and providing services. There are still huge gaps in research on how platform-mediated gig work impacts the structural vulnerability of migrant workers. The aim of this book is to address some of these issues. It includes empirical and theoretical contributions from across the globe on topics such as migrant workers and digitalised work, Artificial Intelligence and labour, digitalisation and work-related policy, digital surveillance, labour struggles in the digitalised service sector, unionism and self-organisation in the gig economy. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of work and employment, social movements, migration and labour studies. Francesco Della Puppa is Associate Professor in Sociology at Ca’ Foscari University, Italy. Dipsita Dhar is social activist and PhD candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Nicola Montagna is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Salerno, Italy.  

This book explores the gig economy and the role of migrant workers, which has been widely documented, but under-researched. In the last forty years work and employment in the advanced economies has undergone profound transformations and, more recently, a key role has been played by the development of platform capitalism and the gig economy as a way of organising work and providing services.

There are still huge gaps in research on how platform-mediated gig work impacts the structural vulnerability of migrant workers and how this can be addressed by welfare policies. The aim of this book is to address some of these issues. It includes empirical and theoretical contributions from across the globe on topics such as migrant workers and digitalised work, artificial Intelligence and work, digitalisation and work-related policy, digital surveillance, labour struggles in the digitalised service sector, unionism and self-organisation in the gig economy. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of work and employment, the future of work, social movements, migration and labour studies.

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Francesco Della Puppa

Themen in »Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy«

Gig Work Platform Economy Migrant Labour Digitalisation Resistance Globalisation

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“The growth of the gig economy in recent years is a phenomenon of great importance which has remained insufficiently studied. This economy’s specificities such as its notable reliance on migrant workers even when there is local unemployment and the divide this introduces between gig and other workers and the additional hurdles it creates in the way of their becoming organized, remain as intriguing as ever. The papers in this book are extremely useful in this context. Based on meticulous field-work they throw much-needed light on the gig economy in several countries and constitute a timely and invaluable contribution to an understanding of a key aspect of contemporary capitalism.” (Prabhat Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India)

“This is an excellent collection that brings together important perspectives on migrant workers in the platform economy. The contributions take seriously the challenges that migrant workers face in this kind of work, while maintaining a focus on the workers’ struggles that have the power to change these conditions.”  (Jamie Woodcock, King's College, London, UK)

“The central axis of this book can be summarized as follows: on one hand, we witness a monumental expansion of digital labor and algorithmic systems. On the other, we observe the growing presence of migrant labor within these digital activities, characterized by the absence of rights and high levels of exploitation. Across its eight chapters, the book examines empirical realities in Italy, Portugal, Greece, England, India, and China, suggesting that while each country exhibits specific singularities and particularities, a broader, paradoxical process of homogenization is underway. This process manifests in the precarization and intensification of labor exploitation, particularly affecting migrant workers. A new specter is haunting the world of work: the specter of Uberization. This book provides crucial insights that enhance our understanding of these emerging labor modalities, and it also suggests that we are witnessing the rise of new struggles and forms of resistance. This dynamic reveals that the evolving morphology of labor is giving rise to a new morphology of social struggles.” (Ricardo Antunes, Full Professor, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP/Brazil))

“This book is a collective attempt to reveal the latest dynamics of capitalism with platform and gig economy. It is shown that the new digital technology has not been used to ensure comfort or leisure for the global working class; but, on the contrary, to extract super profit by making workers more alienated, vulnerable, unprotected, precarious, without holidays, trade union, regular income. In the present neoliberal global (dis)order, war, conflict, unemployment and insecurity often drive more people to leave their home or country and add them to increasing number of migrant workers, now visible portion of global labour-force. By compiling chapters focuses on specific studies on India, Portugal, Greece, UK, Italy, China, this book brings crucial insights to understand development of ‘platform capitalism’ and the gig economy as well as the failure of traditional trade unions and looking for other ways for organizing workers.” (Anu Muhammad, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh)

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