lecture 13: tech and work woodcock and graham

Question 1

Features of gigwork

Answer 1

1. non employment relationship: employment means selling labor for a wage it is formalized, designation of being an employer under labor law, gig work is not employment; not protected by labor law;
2. not related to job benefits: consequence: often times pervasive overwork; not entitled to labor related benefits.
3. Question of legal liability: who is responsible for accidents? fuzziness of moments
4. usage of “piece rates” instead of hourly wage, for each output produced based on that aaaa
5. informalization in the global north;
   * highly contingent not protected work prominent in global south but would only be erased by economic development
   * but here we see gig work acts like informal work (not tyoical way) in many contexts not regulated by the state - in global north

Question 2

platform and gig labor

Answer 2

Platforms: a digital infrastructure for connecting workers,
consumers, and companies
Nothing inherent to the technology that requires casualization of
labor
* A technology for escaping labor law
* “independent contractors” (explain how using uber and 80s truck drivers as an example)

Question 3

exploitation on the platform: how are gig workers reproduced?

Answer 3

no evidence that 1 transaction is enough to reproduce labor. old model of exploitation is fractured for gigi workers.

so how do they reproduce labor power?

• may have part time employment along w gig work
• diff gig works diff employers
• have to piece different works

platforms say gig workers like this flexibility byt many workers who are gig workers actually do depend on enoiugh income to have necessarily labor and so as a result end up having to work v v long hours

for them working a normal 40 hour week does not cover needs of social reproduction

no legal way to help: no benefits provided like insurance and all.

Question 4

is this freedom

Answer 4

in some regard yeah because its nice to not have boss over tour head; no emotional labor - no need to be nice and all

but also pretty clear that its not rly freedom:
doubly free labor: have freedom to provide and sell ur labor anywhere (pieces of work)

but also dont have freedom to sociall reproduce: free to starve- limited kind of freedom

Question 4

Platform panopticon

Answer 4

platform maintains tight surveillance of location, time for delivery and no. of orders, customers.

customer ratings determine how remunative the job is (

basivally eg: uber drivers have 2 layers of surveilance:

1. app itself: panoptic form of surveillance:
   * centralized in HQ
   * nobody knows what conditions drivers are workinf under
   * no solidarity amongst workers
   * constant surveillance: all the time know when signed in
   * depersonalized: ur just part of the algorithms mechanics at the end of the day
   * communicating can be depersonalized: who communicating to? algorithm
2. custom is a form of surveillancE: have capricious form of surveillance; their mood and personality
   * human to human surveillance
   * alternative set of rules: diff expectations than u evven or even platform
   * very unpredictable process of discipline that can affect drivers jobs