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

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  • 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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.
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    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.
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    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.

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