On-Demand Platforms Workers in Columbia: A Labour Relationship in Disguise
Date
2020-12
Authors
Torres Cierpe, Juana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS)
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
This article is a study on the future of digital work in Colombia. It focuses on the case of workers in on-demand platforms, as they are the workforce most relevant to the notion of digital labour in the country. The research question was: What are the stakes of the legal vacuum in which on-demand platform workers find themselves? The methodological approach in the research paper consisted of analysis of secondary data (statistics and academic journal articles). The article consists of two parts. Part one gives an account of the labour changes of the past 30 years. These changes are analysed within the framework of neoliberal implementation, emphasising the phenomenon of informality. Part two concentrates on showing the situation of workers in the on-demand platform in Colombia. The problem of informality, into which this type of worker falls, is taken as an essential phenomenon. The section first shows a typology of the platforms operating in the country, where the on-demand platform workers perform. It then explores the implications of the legal vacuum that their situation involves. Finally, it analyses some studies that provide specific data regarding on-demand platform workers.
Description
Keywords
future of wokers, Future of digital work in Colombia, On-demand platforms, Digital labour, Framework of neoliberal implementation, Phenomenon of informality
Citation
Torres Cierpe, J. 2020. On-demand platform workers in Colombia: a labour relationship in disguise. Future of Work(ers) SCIS Working Paper Number 10. Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, Wits University.