What do platform workers in the UK gig economy want?
Martindale, Nicholas ; Wood, Alex J. ; Burchell, Brendan
British Journal of Industrial Relations
2024
Early View
digital economy ; crowd work ; workers rights ; working conditions ; workers representation ; codetermination
Workers participation and European works councils
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12797
English
"Despite the considerable debate concerning the gig economy, research has yet to investigate what plat form workers themselves want. In part, this is due to the difficulty of undertaking traditional social surveys in this sector. Therefore, this article makes use of a novel research design that generates a strategic non-probability sample of 510 platform workers with which to investigate workers' preferences regarding labour rights, representation and voice. Findings suggest strong support for labour rights, trade unions and co-determination. The low pay, insecurity, risk and lack of organizational voice that we find provides a rationale for these preferences. Moreover, platform workers' preferences are seemingly influenced by wider inequalities, with significant differences according to gender and country of birth."
Digital
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