Digital Caporalato and Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy

The contribution highlights how gig economy is intertwined with informal and illegal forms of labour intermediation, especially affecting the migrant portion of the workforce. Over the last decade, the platform economy has become a crucial infrastructure for migrant workers at a global level. The inclusion of these workers, however, has been marked by adverse incorporation, as the paper demonstrates through two case studies: Uber drivers in Argentina and delivery riders in Italy. First, rules of engagement in the gig economy lead to a parallel labour market characterised by job uncertainty and lack of formal employment regulations. In addition, platform companies take full advantage of the vulnerabilities of individuals and the global migration flows that feed this workforce by intertwining with informal labour markets and illicit working practices. Fieldwork in both case studies reveals a peculiar form of labour exploitation and abuse called digital caporalato, which disproportionately affects migrant workers. Starting from empirical cases, the contribution presents and analyses three different forms of caporalato that take place inside or outside the boundaries of the apps and that involve different organisational practices. Finally, these findings point to a process of refeudalisation of labour, which some authors have previously identified with the resurgence of premodern patterns of labour organisation.