“Self-Organising Workers in the Gig Economy”

…In the process of mapping and probing their work processes, workers are developing a collective voice. As food delivery workers we are out in the cold, delivering across the city. Across the city of Edinburgh, where the WO is based, you can see us gathering at the end of Princes Street, in front of the St James Quarter, on Constitution Street and in Bristo Square. Thousands of riders, meet in informal virtual and physical spaces, fighting the algorithm by themselves and on their own. Our paths cross every shift, we see the city, we share our insights, but we lack collective representation.

The biggest fraction of workers doing this kind of work are migrants, and the project is led by migrants originally from South Asia and Spanish-speaking countries. For the last four months, we have engaged with hundreds of other riders to get a real, accurate reflection of the situation in this city. …

Organising in this field is far from an easy task. Those who work hardest for these companies are the most vulnerable….

… the fees that platforms are paying are the lowest we have seen in this city since the WO started back in 2019…