Searching for a better job
Abstract
The conditions of gig workers, such as platform drivers, differ sharply between
countries in central and peripheral capitalism. Working conditions with long
working hours, low incomes and lack of social protection tend to be more severe
for gig workers in peripheral than in central capitalism. This article draws on a
survey of 290 drivers working for ride-hailing, food-delivery and courier platforms
in one of the peripheral capitalist countries, namely Indonesia. It examines the
precariousness of their working conditions in relation to the International Labour
Organization’s Decent Work Indicators and concludes that of the ten decent
work indicators, platform drivers only receive two. However, this decent work
agenda has limitations: first, the decent work indicators have not been able to
protect specific forms of work in digital labour; second, the minimum wage in
decent work in Indonesia does not represent a living wage, so is rejected by many
platform drivers; and third, the concept of decent work cannot be extended to
cover future working conditions that are fair and without exploitation.
Date
2023-11-28Author
Novianto, Arif
Wulansari, Anindya Dessi
Keban, Yeremias Torontuan