IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/intlab/v161y2022i3p441-461.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of the pandemic on gig economy couriers in Argentina and Chile: Precarity, algorithmic control and mobilization

Author

Listed:
  • Francisca GUTIÉRREZ CROCCO
  • Maurizio ATZENI

Abstract

This article analyses the effects of the pandemic on the work process at two digital delivery platforms operating in Argentina and Chile: Rappi and PedidosYa. Using semi‐structured interviews and an analysis of the press and websites, it looks at how the platforms have shifted the costs of the crisis to workers by leveraging the independent contractor status and tightening control. In response, the couriers have mounted various types of resistance, ranging from renting out or loaning accounts to organizing international strikes.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisca GUTIÉRREZ CROCCO & Maurizio ATZENI, 2022. "The effects of the pandemic on gig economy couriers in Argentina and Chile: Precarity, algorithmic control and mobilization," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 161(3), pages 441-461, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:161:y:2022:i:3:p:441-461
    DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12376
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12376
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ilr.12376?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sebastián Etchemendy & Ruth Berins Collier, 2007. "Down but Not Out: Union Resurgence and Segmented Neocorporatism in Argentina (2003–2007)," Politics & Society, , vol. 35(3), pages 363-401, September.
    2. Hannah JOHNSTON, 2020. "Labour geographies of the platform economy: Understanding collective organizing strategies in the context of digitally mediated work," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 159(1), pages 25-45, March.
    3. Andrew Stewart & Jim Stanford, 2017. "Regulating work in the gig economy: What are the options?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 420-437, September.
    4. Kate Minter, 2017. "Negotiating labour standards in the gig economy: Airtasker and Unions New South Wales," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 438-454, September.
    5. Gerald Friedman, 2014. "Workers without employers: shadow corporations and the rise of the gig economy," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 171-188, April.
    6. Andrés Fielbaum & Alejandro Tirachini, 2021. "The sharing economy and the job market: the case of ride-hailing drivers in Chile," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2235-2261, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ernest Cañada & Carla Izcara & María José Zapata Campos, 2023. "Putting Fairness into the Gig Economy: Delivery Cooperatives as Alternatives to Corporate Platforms," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Uchiyama, Yosuke & Furuoka, Fumitaka & Md. Akhir, Md. Nasrudin, 2022. "Gig Workers, Social Protection and Labour Market Inequality: Lessons from Malaysia," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 56(3), pages 165-184.
    2. Radosław Malik & Anna Visvizi & Małgorzata Skrzek-Lubasińska, 2021. "The Gig Economy: Current Issues, the Debate, and the New Avenues of Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Santana, Monica & Cobo, Manuel J., 2020. "What is the future of work? A science mapping analysis," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 846-862.
    4. Adermon, Adrian & Hensvik, Lena, 2022. "Gig-jobs: Stepping stones or dead ends?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Danielle Logue & Matthew Grimes, 2022. "Platforms for the people: Enabling civic crowdfunding through the cultivation of institutional infrastructure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 663-693, March.
    6. Sabine Pfeiffer & Sandra Kawalec, 2020. "Justice expectations in crowd and platform-mediated work," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(4), pages 483-501, December.
    7. Alvaro von Borries & Markus Grillitsch & Karl-Johan Lundquist, 2024. "Structural transformation, the knowledge economy, and the geography of low-income work," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 285-308.
    8. Dick Bryan & Michael Rafferty & Phillip Toner & Sally Wright, 2017. "Financialisation and labour in the Australian commercial construction industry," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(4), pages 500-518, December.
    9. Daniel Halliday, 2021. "On the (mis)classification of paid labor: When should gig workers have employee status?," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 229-250, August.
    10. Tan, Zhi Ming & Aggarwal, Nikita & Cowls, Josh & Morley, Jessica & Taddeo, Mariarosaria & Floridi, Luciano, 2021. "The ethical debate about the gig economy: A review and critical analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    11. Anamitra Roychowdhury, 2019. "Application of job security laws, workers’ bargaining power and employment outcomes in India," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 30(1), pages 120-141, March.
    12. Sutherland, Will & Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein, 2018. "The sharing economy and digital platforms: A review and research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 328-341.
    13. Jesús M Artero & Cristina Borra & Rosario Gómez-Alvarez, 2020. "Education, inequality and use of digital collaborative platforms: The European case," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(3), pages 364-382, September.
    14. Charalampos STYLOGIANNIS, 2023. "Freedom of association and collective bargaining in the platform economy: A human rights‐based approach and an ever‐increasing mobilization of workers," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(1), pages 123-145, March.
    15. Kevin Hu & Feng Fu, 2021. "Evolutionary Dynamics of Gig Economy Labor Strategies under Technology, Policy and Market Influence," Games, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-31, June.
    16. Ensar Balkaya & İkram Yusuf Yarbaşı & Muhammed İkbal Tepeler, 2023. "Determinants of Demand in Digital Platform-Mediated Service Work in Turkey: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    17. Andrey SHEVCHUK & Denis STREBKOV, 2023. "Digital platforms and the changing freelance workforce in the Russian Federation: A ten‐year perspective," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(1), pages 1-22, March.
    18. Mohamed Mousa & Walid Chaouali & Monowar Mahmood, 2023. "The Inclusion of Gig Employees and their Career Satisfaction: Do Individual and Collaborative Job Crafting Play a Role?," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1055-1068, September.
    19. Maurizio Atzeni & Juan Grigera, 2019. "The Revival of Labour Movement Studies in Argentina: Old and Lost Agendas," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(5), pages 865-876, October.
    20. Anghel, Răzvan, 2019. "Implications of CJEU Jurisprudence on the Delimitation of Working Time by Rest Time in the Collaborative Economy," SocArXiv pj63e, Center for Open Science.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:161:y:2022:i:3:p:441-461. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ilounch.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.