SCIS Working Paper | Number 63 | Cook, S and Rani, U. 2023. Platform work in developing economies: Can digitalisation drive structural transformation?

This paper explores how digital economic activity, specifically platform work, affects structural transformations in developing economies. It questions whether digital transformation can drive human, inclusive, and sustainable development by moving labour to higher-productivity sectors. The analysis highlights obstacles such as the disconnection between skills, productivity, and wages, and the concentration of capital. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to guide digital economic transformation towards equitable development.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 47 | Castel-Branco, R. 2022. The Machamba is for life: navigating a precarious labour market in rural Mozambique 

This paper examines the peasantry's evolving role in contemporary capitalism in Mozambique, critiquing Meillassoux's ideas on the domestic community. It highlights how camponeses—ranging from landless laborers to capitalist farmers—navigate labor insecurity through their cultivation of the machamba (field), which offers both autonomy and livelihood but also perpetuates precarity and neoliberalism. The paper concludes that while peasant practices resist land dispossession, they also reinforce existing power structures. Nevertheless, land struggles continue to be the primary driver of contentious politics in Mozambique.

SCIS Working Papers | Numbers 31 - 38

The Future of Work(ers) Research Project launches eight new interdisciplinary working papers on the intersection of digital technologies, the changing world of work(ers) and inequality in the global South. This impressive collection of papers by scholars from the global South is the product of a three-year research project, led by the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. Much of the scholarship on the impact of digital technologies on the world of work has focused on the global North. These papers showcase cutting-edge research on the implications of digitisation for work and workers across a diversity of sectors in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India and South Africa. The papers span Brazil’s manufacturing sector, agritechs in Ghana, click farm workers in Brazil, warehouse workers in Argentina, and various forms of location based platform work (incusing food couriers and beauty workers) in Brazil, Columbia and India.  

The working papers can all be downloaded here:

SCIS Working Paper | Number 38 | Komarraju, S.A. With and against Platformisation: Men in care professions and the gendered dynamics of the future of work(ers). 

The research highlights the gendered focus in platform economy studies, often overlooking men in feminized care professions. It argues for broadening the concept of feminization in platform work beyond women's presence, using ethnographic research on male workers in cleaning and salon jobs in India. The paper explores these men's experiences with platformisation, their resistance and adaptation, and how they navigate their masculinity in feminized roles.

 SCIS Working Paper | Number  37 | Souza Santos, L. 2022. The impact of digital labour platforms on the conditions of food couriers in Rio de Janeiro. 

The article examines the impact of digitalisation and platformisation on food couriers in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on their work conditions and professional trajectories. Based on 500 surveys and 100 interviews, it identifies three distinct groups of couriers: those resisting platformisation, those using it as a temporary job, and younger workers who see precarious work as normal but hope to change professions. The study highlights the structural precariousness of their work, worsened by low incomes and long hours, and explores the continuities and changes brought by digital platforms.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 36 | Sanchez Vargas, D. and O. Maldonado. 2022.  My boss, the app: Algorithmic management and labour process in delivery platforms in Colombia.

This paper examines the impact of algorithms on working conditions for platform workers in Colombia, focusing on couriers, drivers, and domestic workers. It analyzes how digital tools and algorithmic management allocate, monitor, and evaluate work, influencing worker behavior and emerging practices of resistance or compliance. The study draws on Science and Technology Studies and Organisation Studies to explore the human-machine interactions and the new inequalities created by algorithmic management in the gig economy.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 35 | Nair, G. and J. Divyadarshi. 2022. Unexceptional neoliberalism: enterprise and informality in the gig economy of India. 

This paper explores the conditions of gig work in India, highlighting its expansion and the precarity faced by workers. It examines whether gig work, with its lack of regulation and social security, extends informal labour practices to new sectors. Through interviews with gig workers, the paper analyses how neoliberal policies and algorithmic controls, combined with traditional constraints of caste, class, and gender, affect workers who are viewed as autonomous entrepreneurs by the State and digital platforms.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 34 | Grohman, R. Govari, C., Amaral, A., and M. Aquino. 2022. Click farm platforms and informal work in Brazil. 

This paper examines click farm work in Brazil, revealing how it updates and reproduces traditional informal labor practices. Through digital ethnography and worker interviews, it explores the connections between informal work and click farms, focusing on cultural extensions via WhatsApp, the role of YouTubers in promoting neoliberalism, and boundaries around piracy. The study highlights how click farms intensify micro-work and "fauxtomation," reflecting broader neoliberal and informal work dynamics in the global South.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 33 | Akorsu, A. and A. Britwum. 2022. The architecture of players in Ghana's digitalising agriculture. 

This paper investigates the impact of digital technologies on agriculture in Ghana, focusing on how these technologies are shifting from being viewed as public goods to commodities that farmers must fully finance. Using the food regimes approach, it examines the proliferation of agritech platforms and their role in the international digital ecosystem, highlighting concerns about the exploitation of farmers. The study calls for better conceptual tools to evaluate development alternatives and ensure that digital technologies benefit poor farmers in Ghana.

SCIS Working Paper  | Number 32 | Tessarin, M. and P. Morceiro. 2022. Labour market transformations in the era of new technologies: an analysis by regions, gender and industries in Brazil. 

This paper analyses the impact of new technologies on the Brazilian formal labour market, focusing on regional, sectoral, and gender disparities. It assesses the risk of digitalization across different occupations and industries, revealing that jobs in high-risk sectors are concentrated regionally and by gender. The study found a significant decline in employment from 2011 to 2019, particularly affecting women in vulnerable sectors. It calls for tailored public policies to address these disparities and integrate educational, regional, and technological strategies to mitigate the impact of digitalization on formal jobs.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 31 | Atzeni, M. and B. Kenny. 2022. The labour process and workers' rights at Mercado Libre: hiding exploitation through regulation in the digital economy. 

This paper examines Mercado Libre in Argentina, Latin America's largest e-commerce platform, focusing on the impact of digitalized labour processes in warehousing. It finds that workers face fragmented, temporary jobs with stressful conditions due to algorithmic and human management. The study highlights the mixed role of trade unions in protecting workers and suggests that the Argentinian experience offers lessons for labour organizing in South Africa and the broader global South. It also sets the stage for future comparative research on labour relations in these regions.

Webster, E., and F. Masikane. 2022. I just want to survive: A comparative study of food courier riders in three African cities. FES | SCIS | Wits University: Johannesburg.

A new form of precarious work has emerged in the digital economy, characterized by algorithmic management that promises flexibility but results in long hours, no paid leave, and lack of social security for food courier riders in Accra, Johannesburg, and Nairobi. Riders face high risks without basic safety protections, while algorithmic management extends authoritarian control and deepens global inequality. However, this same technology also enhances workers' collective bargaining power, enabling the formation of union-like collectives that offer mutual aid and the potential for strikes.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 28 | Mehta B.S, Laha, S and Sharma A.N. 2022. Indian Labour Market: Post-Liberalisation Trajectory and the Arrival of Digital Technology

SCIS Working Paper | Number 27 | Ewinyu, A, Masikane, F and Webster, E. 2021. Working Alone in South Africa: A Tale of Increased Precarity and Deepened Inequality 

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the world of work in South Africa, exposing and exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. While the shift to home-based work was less disruptive for higher-skilled, professional workers with access to resources, informal sector workers faced severe insecurity and hardship. This paper examines the impact of remote work on various socio-economic groups in South Africa, revealing that the pandemic has highlighted and deepened inequalities related to race, gender, and socio-economic status. It argues for a hybrid work model and calls for better recognition and support for home-based workers to address these disparities and ensure fair treatment and protection in the evolving work landscape.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 11 | Srivastava, R.S. 2021. Interrrogating a Framework for Universal Social Protection in India

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the world of work in South Africa, exposing and exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. While the shift to home-based work was less disruptive for higher-skilled, professional workers with access to resources, informal sector workers faced severe insecurity and hardship. This paper examines the impact of remote work on various socio-economic groups in South Africa, revealing that the pandemic has highlighted and deepened inequalities related to race, gender, and socio-economic status. It argues for a hybrid work model and calls for better recognition and support for home-based workers to address these disparities and ensure fair treatment and protection in the evolving work landscape.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 10 | Cierpe, J.T. 2020. On-Demand Platforms Workers in Columbia: A Labour Relationship in Disguise

This article explores the future of digital work in Colombia, focusing on on-demand platform workers and the implications of their legal vacuum. It uses secondary data to analyze labor changes over the past 30 years within a neoliberal framework, highlighting issues of informality. The paper reviews the types of platforms operating in Colombia, examines the legal gaps affecting these workers, and discusses studies that provide specific insights into their situation.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 9 | Naidoo, K. 2020. Innovation, Digital Platform Technologies and Employment: An Overview of Key Issues and Emerging Trends in South Africa 

This paper profiles the South African labour market and explores digital platform labour, highlighting its scope and quality issues. With approximately 135,000 platform workers in South Africa, the paper notes concerns about low wages and poor working conditions. It discusses challenges in regulating platform work due to independent contractor classifications and examines emerging worker organizations that extend beyond traditional trade unions.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 8 | Ali, R. and Muianga, C. 2020. The Future of Worker(ers) in Mozambique in the Digital Era 

This paper examines the emerging digital platform and gig work in Mozambique, highlighting its impact on work conditions and labor relations. Despite limited ICT access and the nascent stage of digital work, recent growth in start-ups and the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated its development. The study finds that digital gig work exacerbates existing labor market issues, characterized by informality and insecurity, and notes the absence of legislation and trade unions. It argues for a broader analysis of work, including digital and informal forms, to inform effective public policies.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 7 | Osorio, V.V. 2020. Not a Fairy Tale: Unicorns and Social Protection of Gig Workers in Columbia 

In Colombia, the rapid growth of the digital platform Rappi Inc., valued over $1 billion(,what the venture capital business called a unicorn company). has occurred without adequate labour protections for gig workers, who are classified as independent contractors. The absence of a regulatory framework has led to significant profit imbalances between capital and labour. In response, workers have formed the Movimiento Nacional de Repartidores de Plataformas Digitales (MNRP) and a trade union via an app, Unidapp. The paper also explores debates around universal basic income and the Programa Ingreso Solidario (PIS), highlighting ongoing discussions about social protection and public policy reforms.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 6 | Berhane, Z. 2020. Making the case for a more comprehensive and equitable intervention in the digital economy

This paper analyses Ethiopia's social protection programs, which cover about 21% of the population, focusing on coverage, adequacy, and expansion options. It highlights political and financial challenges, including the government's use of social protection for political stability and the reliance on donor funding. The paper provides cost estimates for implementing social pensions, child benefits, and disability grants, suggesting these options are affordable with domestic resource mobilization and calls for restructuring to enhance inclusivity.

SCIS Working Paper | Number 5 | Matthews, T. 2020. Traversing the cracks: social protection toward the achievement of social justice, equality and dignity in South Africa

South Africa's extensive social protection system fails to address deep socio-economic inequalities, particularly for black African women, exacerbated by ÍøÒ×ÌåÓý. The paper critiques how social protection policies can reinforce structural inequality and highlights issues with insufficient grants and the digitalisation of cash transfers. It calls for a more inclusive and equitable approach, linked with labor market policies, to effectively tackle these inequalities.