Cover Work in the Global Economy
Work in the Global Economy

Control and consent regime dynamics within labour platforms

Authors:
Valeria PulignanoUniversity of KU Leuven, Belgium

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Milena FrankeUniversity of KU Leuven, Belgium

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Article Category:
Research Article
Copyright:
© Authors 2022
Online Publication Date:
10 Nov 2022
Pages:
149–175
Publisher:
Bristol University Press
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2: Issue 2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1332/273241721X16654825793852
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Much is known about how labour platforms use ‘algorithmic management’ to implement rules which govern labour by matching workers (or service providers) with clients (or users). But little is known about whether and how platform workers engage with these rules by manipulating them to their own advantage, and how this accounts for wider ‘regime dynamics’ across (and within) different types of platforms (for example, on-location and online). Based on a comparative analysis of two food delivery (Deliveroo and Takeaway) and two freelancing (Upwork and Jellow) platforms in Belgium, we discuss the rules platforms use to govern labour and examine what role workers have in shaping a ‘space’ of control over the conduct of their work. Drawing on labour process theory, we argue that this space is shaped by the way in which platforms shift risks onto workers by rules governing access to work through rewards, penalties as well as labour deployment reflecting various contractual statuses. Hence, we explain how workers also shape such spaces by organising consent around these rules, pointing to a ‘social space’ for food delivery workers and a ‘market space’ for self-employed freelancers. These spaces refer to different regime types, that is, ‘pay-based control’ and ‘time-based control’ for food delivery, and ‘customer-based control’ and ‘task-based control’ for online freelancers. These types are shaped by the control and consent dynamics within labour platforms, reflecting the platforms’ labour governance strategies and workers’ attempts to ensure control over these strategies within the distinctive political institutional realm.

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Valeria PulignanoUniversity of KU Leuven, Belgium

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Milena FrankeUniversity of KU Leuven, Belgium

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Valeria.pulignano@kuleuven.be
leamilena.franke@kuleuven.be

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