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Stratified pathways into platform work: Migration trajectories and skills in Berlin’s gig economy

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  • Barbara Orth

    (Department of Geography, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

Platform labour scholars have noted the prevalence of migrant workers in the gig economy. This paper builds on this research but interrogates the broad concept of ‘migrant labour’. The study draws on biographical interviews with platform workers in grocery delivery and domestic work platforms in Berlin, Germany as well as expert interviews with union representatives, migrant organisations and white-collar platform company employees. Through an examination of the mobility strategies of platform workers in this subset of the platform economy, the study reveals a stratification of migrant trajectories and of skills needed to engage in platform work across different types of labour platforms. The study finds that platform companies draw on a workforce that consists of recently arrived young migrants with comparatively high education, language skills and digital literacy. Through close analysis of an understudied section of the gig economy, the paper contributes to the ongoing theorisation of the nexus of migration regimes and platform-mediated labour regimes. The findings complicate the notion of ‘accessibility’ of platform work and call for the inclusion of visa regimes, immigration categories and particular skill sets in future research on platform labour.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara Orth, 2024. "Stratified pathways into platform work: Migration trajectories and skills in Berlin’s gig economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(2), pages 476-490, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:56:y:2024:i:2:p:476-490
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X231191933
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Aditi Surie & Lakshmee V. Sharma, 2019. "Climate change, Agrarian distress, and the role of digital labour markets: evidence from Bengaluru, Karnataka," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 46(2), pages 127-138, June.
    2. Rosie Cox, 2018. "Gender, work, non-work and the invisible migrant: au pairs in contemporary Britain," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-4, December.
    3. Torben Krings, 2021. "‘Good’ Bad Jobs? The Evolution of Migrant Low-Wage Employment in Germany (1985–2015)," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(3), pages 527-544, June.
    4. 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.
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