Gig economy: The plight of delivery workers

From food delivery and ride-hailing apps to handywork and domestic services, millions of people around the globe work within the so-called gig economy – a term applied to independent contractors or freelancers, usually on digital apps. While the flexibility offered by online gig platforms can be attractive, it comes at the cost of limited job security, lack of social protection and sometimes exploitation. But gig workers are getting organised with protests and even some advances. To better understand the plight of these workers, Charles Pellegrin talks to Jamie Woodcock, a senior lecturer in digital economy at King’s College London and author of “The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy”.