Roadies: an Ethnography of Digitalisation of Inequalities and Precarisation in Food Couriers
Roadies: an Ethnography of Digitalisation of Inequalities and Precarisation in Food Couriers
Author(s): Julius-Cezar MacQuarieSubject(s): Anthropology, Ethnohistory, Present Times (2010 - today), Human Resources in Economy, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Asylum, Refugees, Migration as Policy-fields
Published by: NEW EUROPE COLLEGE - Institute for Advanced Studies
Keywords: platform work; food couriers; night ethnography; inequalities; precarisation; Europe;
Summary/Abstract: Food couriers working the evening and nighttime shifts are a special case of platform-mediated work, and an under-researched category of contracted workers in the digitalised platform economy. Drawing on a night ethnography, the paper focuses on the strategic role that migrant and non-migrant gig workers play in supporting communities in four cities: Bucharest and Oradea in Romania, and Cork in Ireland. London, the fourth locality, is the “glocturnal” city in Europe, with a long history of immigration and an exceptional status due to its high demand for migrant workers 24/7. This ethnographic account aims to impact the emerging field in the digitalisation of labour migration and contribute to debates on digitalisation of inequalities and precarisation of nightworkers.
Journal: New Europe College Stefan Odobleja Program Yearbook
- Issue Year: 2022
- Issue No: 2021+22
- Page Range: 93-127
- Page Count: 37
- Language: English