Keywords
platforms
rider law
algorithms
How to Cite
Funding data
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Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Grant numbers PID2020-115170RB-100
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Abstract
Critical studies on platform capitalism have expressed concern about the evasion of formal employment responsibilities by digital platforms through business models that rely on independent contractors. This model has been widely contested by social actors, who have accused the platforms of establishing relationships of bogus autonomy. The Spanish case is a paradigmatic context for the study of these debates, as it was the first country in the European Union to presume the employment nature of delivery activities. This article contributes to the literature on precariousness in the platform economy by exploring a case that has not yet received much attention: the salaried model of delivery platforms. Methodologically, it draws on a qualitative approach that combines documentary analysis with interviews with two workers and one trade unionist. The article reveals that, if we adopt a multidimensional perspective on precariousness, the salaried work model reproduces certain manifestations of social insecurity that tend to accentuate the vital precariousness of delivery activities and their workers.
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