Are Workers in the ‘Age of Uber’ Subjects of a Disruptive Philosophy?

Abstract

Is the Uber work model no more than a contemporary version of Taylorist scientific management, in which the computer algorithm replaces the classical stopwatch and clipboard in maximising outputs from labour, or is it a manifestation of a disruptive philosophy that may augur a paradigmatic shift in law and regulation? Uber’s modus operandi is usefully considered in the light of the mutation of 1990s cyberutopianism into the platform capitalism of the new millennium, as practised by the “GAFA” (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) mega-corporations. Jane Kelsey’s research reveals how the GAFA oligopolies, established in the absence of domestic regulation, have exercised a disproportionate influence on the provisions of free trade agreements as they “seek to lock in that regulatory void through binding international rules that prevent governments from regulating their operations”. This paper, which is a draft work in progress, considers whether Uber’s denial of employee rights for its workers and its ultra-libertarian antipathy to state governance potentially challenge existing governance structures, in particular, the agonistic, tripartite underpinnings of the International Labour Organization (“ILO”), and the pluralism of ILO-informed employment law and regulation.