Der Fragmentierung begegnen

This article addresses the question of labour, collective resources and the organising of migrant workers on the cleaning platform Helpling in Berlin. Based on qualitative research in Berlin, the authors explain why labour and collective action on cleaning platforms take place in different forms than in other platform companies. The article argues that the spatial distribution among private households, the absence of shared socialisation and the legal framework of these business models make organising labour on platforms like Helpling difficult. The authors argue at the same time that these factors do not prevent organising and social struggles, but instead change their forms. Workers on Helpling in Berlin organise mainly in informal mutual aid groups, with the help of a workers’ centre and political groups. These circumstances give rise to both potentials and hurdles for the development of collective counter-power, which are also relevant for the analysis of other forms of platform labour.