Book Review: Riding for Deliveroo: Resistance in the New Economy

Abstract

Reading a book on the ‘gig economy’ in which Karl Marx is the most frequent reference may seem strange, but Callum Cant’s programmatic approach precisely analyses in Marxist terms the new platform business model in the context of capitalist development since the 19th century and the history of class struggle. The labour movement’s multiple attempts during the past two centuries to safeguard the dignity of work against exploitation and abuse on the part of capital have entered a new period, exemplified by the struggles of so-called ‘riders’ against the often invisible platform managements. The platform economy has emerged as a growing business model in the context of the digitalisation of our economies. In a recent ETUI survey study in 14 EU countries in 2021 almost 50 million Europeans reported using the Internet as a source of income. The level of such income tends to be low, however, which means that platform work can function only as a side job, providing supplementary income (Piasna et al., 2022). Around 12 million people (4.3 per cent of working-age adults) have worked through a digital labour platform in the past year, while 3 million (1.1 per cent) are more intense users for whom platform work represents a significant part of their working lives. The real impact of platform work is still fairly marginal, but its potential in the future and the spillover of its working practices to other sectors are considered to be very significant. The innovation and growth potential of this emerging digital business model have spawned a substantial literature on its legal and political aspects, and the European Commission is currently preparing a Directive on platform work. The generally unexpected mobilisations and collective actions of food delivery platform workers have provoked growing interest among labour lawyers and industrial relations scholars. There is still a gap in the literature when it comes to detailed insider perspectives, however, and the present study is aimed at closing it. Former Deliveroo worker and PhD candidate at the University of West London Callum Cant provides us with very interesting insights and reflections on the working conditions, workforce composition, collective organisation and social context of food delivery workers in the United Kingdom. Cant worked for Deliveroo in Brighton for eight months, participating in a union branch and several strikes and protests for better pay and working conditions. He describes in detail the working of the app, payment conditions, relationships among the couriers, the restaurants involved and bike maintenance, among other things. Deliveroo work is high-stress and high-risk, with riders competing for orders by riding in unsafe ways to shave a few seconds under pressure from the per-drop piece-wage system. Deliveroo workers are not unorganised, but have a WhatsApp 1123774 TRS0010.1177/10242589221123774TransferBook Reviews research-article2022