Work, spatial changes and 'arm's-length bargaining' in the platform economy

Abstract

There are many points of disruption in the platform economy. The attempted dissolution of regulated or organised systems has generated new forms of exploitation but is has also generated a degree of contradictions and new forms of conflict. Industrial relations processes have not simply been removed but have shifted in orientation and the chapter notes how we are seeing new forms of mobilisation and negotiation: a form of arms-length bargaining (to draw on Batstone's concept regarding industrial relations in parts of France: Batstone, 2015; Jefferys, 2015). The chapter also notes that the ruptures in terms of ownership patterns, consumption processes, and the very nature of work (e.g., bogus self-employment) engender new spaces and reference points within mobilising practices. The 'locations' of worker voice and representation consist of a broader range of organisational actors and dynamics as much of the debates are pointing out. This establishes a more fractured and complex form of actors and processes: this generates a further set of pressures on academics and worker activists to understand the way voice and representation is changing.