Hidden transcripts of the gig economy: labour agency and the new art of resistance among African gig workers

Abstract

In this article, we examine how remote gig workers in Africa exercise agency to earn and sustain their livelihoods in the gig economy. In addition to the rewards reaped by gig workers, they also face significant risks, such as precarious working conditions and algorithmic workplace monitoring, thus constraining workers’ autonomy and bargaining power. Gig workers, as a result, are expected to have fewer opportunities to exert their agency – particularly so for workers in Africa, where the high proportion of informal economy and a lack of employment opportunities in local labour markets already constrain workers’ ability to earn livelihoods. Instead, we demonstrate how remote workers in Africa manage various constraints on one of the world’s biggest gig economy platforms through their diverse everyday resilience, reworking and resistance practices (after Katz, 2004 ). Drawing from a rich labour geography tradition, which considers workers to ‘actively produce economic spaces and scales’, our main theoretical contribution is to offer a reformulation of Katz’s notions of ‘resistance’, ‘resilience’ and ‘reworking’ as everyday practices of gig workers best understood as ‘hidden transcripts’ of the gig economy ( Scott, 1990 ). The article draws on in-depth interviews (N=65) conducted with remote workers during the fieldwork in five selected African countries.

Between a rock and a hard place: Freedom, flexibility, precarity and vulnerability in the gig economy in Africa

“…Here, the networks of workers emerging on digital communication channels are key. Local trade unions could think of innovative ways to develop some sense of collective identity in the gig economy in Africa, such as leveraging social media networks of gig workers which are known to be critical for their labour agency and well-being (Anwar and Graham, 2019a).…”

“…To compensate this, gig workers usually turn to social media interactions and digital communications with friends and fellow workers, whose importance is also underscored in the survey of the US and Indian gig workers by Gray and Suri (2019). African workers' digital communication networks through social media have proven to be critical towards their autonomy at work, well-being and off-setting some of the adverse implications of their work (Anwar and Graham, 2019a). Yet, African workers face highly competitive labour markets (both on online labour markets and local labour markets) which can adversely affect their autonomy at work and bargaining power on platforms.…”

“…For African gig workers, increased work intensity and unsocial working hours add to their already existing vulnerable conditions by affecting their physiological and mental health. Plus, Upwork captures the screenshot of workers' computer every 10 min to ensure they are working (Anwar and Graham, 2019a). This constant monitoring of work increases work intensity since workers are under constant pressure to sit in front of their screen for long hours, often late in the night resulting in high physical and mental stress, weakening of eyesight, constant back-pain and a lack of sleep.…”

“…Very rarely it is acknowledged that the high cost of mobile subscriptions in Africa (ITU, 2017), through which most Africans access the Internet, is a major hinderance to workers seeking jobs online. Workers often resorted to taking loans for buying computers or sharing them, and using public hotspots at cafes and libraries (Anwar and Graham, 2019a).…”

“…This gives them structural power to negotiate and schedule their working hours as they see fit. Contrastingly, new workers, less-educated, already unemployed and workers from poor family backgrounds do not have such opportunities (Anwar and Graham, 2019a). Thus, gig work’s contribution to the freedom and flexibility of workers is not a given.…”