Pandemic Meets Precarity: The Case of Platform Delivery Work in Latin America

The Covid-19 pandemic reaffirmed and deepened social, sexual, and racial division of work, putting some bodies on the frontlines. Without these ‘essential’ workers, life itself would not be possible, let alone during the quarantine. Equally, the pandemic aggravated the exploitation workers already faced. With little recourse to labor rights, minimum wage or fair payment, delivery workers are not just invisibilized but are also forced to work during the quarantine, at great risk of contracting the virus. The article undertakes a feminist analysis of the working conditions of platform workers in the Covid-19 moment. The authors suggest that as economies gradually reopen, we must question which bodies matter in the so-called “new normal”.
Author(s): Flora Partenio, Kruskaya Hidalgo Cordero, Belen Valencia
Date Published: 2020

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