The impact of digital labour platforms on the conditions of food couriers in Rio de Janeiro.

Abstract

The incorporation of new technologies into the world of work has been the subject of numerous studies, with the digitalisation and platformisation of work gaining increasing attention. The aim of this article is explore the profile and working conditions of food couriers in Rio de Janeiro, paying attention to their professional trajectories and individual and collective experiences. I conducted 500 surveys with food couriers in the second half of 2021, followed by 100 semi-structured interviews. Survey questions focused on basic demographic information (age, gender, education and so on), the labour process and conditions of work, work identities and aspirations. Through discussion of the quantitative results of the research, the experiences of food couriers and the debate in the literature on the subject, I argue that the structural precariousness of the category has gained a new impulse with the current low incomes and extensive working hours, as well as a diversification in the composition of the category. The paper identifies three groups of food couriers, based on their experiences and expectations, despite them often sharing similar working conditions. The first group includes those who worked as food couriers before the existence of delivery apps, who have more visibly attempted to resist the platformisation process, and have a certain “culture” of their own. The second group refers to those who are in courier services as a temporary job, as an alternative to unemployment, and who generally aspire to return to their former activities. The third group contemplates those whose first job is in platformised deliveries. This younger group seems to see an extremely precarious job as normal, although they intend to work in another profession in the future. Thus this article is interested in pointing out some continuities and ruptures in the activity of food couriers in Rio de Janeiro after the arrival of digital platforms.