Illusory freedom of physical platform workers: Insights from Uber Eats in Japan

Abstract

Platform work is often advocated as offering freedom of work to labour. Contesting this claim, this article undertakes a comparative analysis of the pros and cons of food delivery platform work prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and argues that the freedom of food delivery platform workers is essentially an ‘illusory freedom’. In reality, platform work has only changed mechanisms through which companies can exercise control over labour and evade their employer obligations. As a case, the article examines the illusory freedom of food delivery platform workers associated to Uber Eats in Japan. The collective bargaining efforts of food delivery workers against the excessive control of Uber Eats and the extent of success of these efforts are also examined. The article concludes by discussing the possible factors that have undermined the effectiveness of the collective bargaining efforts of the labour union. JEL Codes: J52; J81

Study on Instant Delivery Service Riders' Safety and Health by the Effects of Labour Intensity in China: A Mediation Analysis

“…In reality, platform work has only changed mechanisms through which companies can exercise control over labour and evade their employer obligations. The freedom of food delivery platform workers is essentially an “illusory freedom” ( 49 ).…”

A content-based analysis to identify the influence of COVID-19 on sharing economy activities

“…The SE aims to serve underutilized resources, promoting efficiency and sustainability, and this can be a weighty task for service providers (SPs) at an operational level [9,18]. Most SPs (such as Uber drivers and Airbnb hosts) are treated as contractors by sharing platforms, which is noteworthy because it relieves them of insurance and social benefits obligations [4,5,22]. In terms of employment, it is up for debate whether Airbnb hosts, Uber Eats delivery agents, and Uber drivers should be classified as contractors, employees, or workers.…”

“…For example, SE meal-delivery services such as UberEats have seen a significant escalation in business. Meal sharing is also rapidly expanding due to COVID-19 [21,22]. However, the pandemic has forced establishments to alter their business policies in lieu of the changing environment in all instances [10].…”

The High-Speed Digital Nomads Trapped in the System: Food Delivery Workers of Meituan

“…Many scholars have criticized how the control of time is intertwined with power in modern society (Chen & Sun, 2020; Wajcman & Dodd, 2016). As the last decade has witnessed a significant boom in the platform economy, scholars have recognized that compared to traditional lifelong employment, platform labor is characterized by its computer-based operation system, which is served to adapt to the mechanism of rapid commodification of digital capitalism (Umer, 2021). However, besides the successful functioning of the platform economy, the systematical exploitation of physical platform labor, especially food delivery labor, has become an incisive social issue in many countries Umer, 2021).…”

“…As the last decade has witnessed a significant boom in the platform economy, scholars have recognized that compared to traditional lifelong employment, platform labor is characterized by its computer-based operation system, which is served to adapt to the mechanism of rapid commodification of digital capitalism (Umer, 2021). However, besides the successful functioning of the platform economy, the systematical exploitation of physical platform labor, especially food delivery labor, has become an incisive social issue in many countries Umer, 2021). Existing studies on food delivery workers mainly focus on the unequal working condition of this liberalism work form (Shu, 2022).…”