544
Collective Action, Organising and Mobilisations in the Platform Economy
Abstract Submissions Closed
RC44 Labor Movements (host committee)
Language: English
Session Type: Oral
In the last few years, Platform work (involving the use of web applications) has been widely studied as a source of insecurity and low pay. There are growing calls for the reregulation of labour markets and increased social protections but so far little focus on the agency of those working within platforms. Unions face these changing realities and must respond by adapting strategies in the platform economy. There is also an emerging interest in applying platform cooperativism (Scholz, 2016) to union organising in this field but little systematic research exists beyond fragmented cases.
The aim of this panel is to bring together cutting-edge research on the field of platform workfrom the point of view of the struggles of workers as well as their involvement in collective action. The panel will privilege empirical investigations (field, single case studies orcomparative cross-country/sector research) into worker mobilisation in platform settings, including within and without traditional unions.
Papers may focus on one or a combination of the following:
-Changing forms of worker representation and mobilisation in the platform economy
-Workers subjective experiences, drivers and forms of mobilisation in platform work
-Comparative and cross-sectoral studies of the platform economy
-The relative distinctive nature of the platform economy, its pervasiveness across sectors and implications for labour conflict
-New emerging forms of platform “cooperativism”
-Factors leading to successful outcomes in the struggle of platform workers
-Differences and similarities in the forms of collective action and representation across the Global North and the Global South