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Type	Working Paper
Scope	Discipline-based scholarship
Title	Labour justice in the platform economy
Organization Unit	Department of Economics (Florian Scheuer)
Authors	Friedemann Bieber
Language	English
Institution	University of Zurich
Series Name	URPP Equality of Opportunity Discussion Paper Series
Number	9
Number of Pages	20
Date	2023
Abstract Text	Recent years have witnessed the rise of digital platforms that allow economic agents to arrange ever more fine-grained contracts. This article zooms in on labour-based platforms that permit the hire of labour in a just-in-time fashion (and are part of the broader trend towards on-demand work). Its principal contributions correspond to its three sections. First, the article exposes the frequently overlooked diversity of labour-based platforms. While the debate typically focuses on powerful platform companies, which arguably constitute distinct economic entities, other platforms resemble mere marketplaces or ordinary employers. Second, it argues that staying alert to this diversity is vital because violations of labour justice take different forms across the three types of platforms. The underlying cause, however, is identical: their relative powerlessness renders workers vulnerable to domination and exploitation. Finally, the article examines three strategies for addressing this threat: turning platforms into worker-run co-ops, introducing stricter regulation, and improving outside job opportunities. While each strategy is most suitable in certain contexts, and all three are complementary, the article argues that the last strategy is most significant. This feeds into its overall conclusion: we should always discuss labour-based platforms with an eye towards the broader labour market.
Official URL	https://www.urpp-equality.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:2663d815-3821-4288-b5fc-d4e476c2180a/9_Pre-peer%20review%20Labour%20Justice%20in%20the%20Platform%20Economy.pdf
Related URLs	https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12639 https://www.urpp-equality.uzh.ch/en/Discussion-Paper-Series.html https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/230648/
Other Identification Number	merlin-id:24224
PDF File	Download from ZORA
Export	BibTeX EP3 XML (ZORA)
Additional Information	This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the article “Labour Justice in the Platform Economy”, which has been published – in its final, and substantially revised form – at the Journal of Applied Philosophy: https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12639 Please refer to the final, published version of the article when referencing it.