The third episode talks about possible alternatives to the neoliberal platform-based model of work that is prevalent, today. As examples, the episode highlights SEWA's ongoing journey of evolving the platform model according to its members' needs, Labournet’s pilot platforms geared towards making platform-based work transparent and more regularised for gig workers and the story of Equal Care Co-op, a platform that’s making care work in the UK more decentralised, and humane.

This podcast series is brought to you by IT for Change, and supported by Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Fair Green Global (FGG).

Host: Sonakshi Agarwal (IT for Change)

Guest Speakers:

• Jalajakshi CK (Labournet)
• Salonie Hiriyadur (SEWA Cooperative Federation)
• Emma Back (Equal Care)

References and Additional Readings:

1. Platform Cooperativism - Challenging the Corporate Sharing Economy (Trebor Scholz) - https://monoskop.org/images/5/5b/Scholz_Trebor_Platform_Cooperativism_Challenging_the_Corporate_Sharing_Economy.pdf

2. Why Platform Cooperatives have yet to challenge Big Tech (Tech Monitor) - https://techmonitor.ai/policy/big-tech/why-platform-cooperatives-have-yet-to-challenge-big-tech

3. [video] Unpacking Digitization, Data Governance and Cooperatives in India (IT for Change) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZigJseA3PU

4. Labournet - https://www.labournet.in/

5. Equal Care Co-op - https://www.equalcare.coop/

6. SEWA Cooperative Federation - https://www.sewafederation.org/

The third episode talks about possible alternatives to the neoliberal platform-based model of work that is prevalent, today. As examples, the episode highlights SEWA's ongoing journey of evolving the platform model according to its members' needs, Labournet’s pilot platforms geared towards making platform-based work transparent and more regularised for gig workers and the story of Equal Care Co-op, a platform that’s making care work in the UK more decentralised, and humane.

This podcast series is brought to you by IT for Change, and supported by Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Fair Green Global (FGG).

Host: Sonakshi Agarwal (IT for Change)

Guest Speakers:

• Jalajakshi CK (Labournet)
• Salonie Hiriyadur (SEWA Cooperative Federation)
• Emma Back (Equal Care)

The second episode delves into the power that algorithms and data hold, in running this platform model of work. Experts explain how algorithmic management and control by platform apps has major implications for working conditions and worker autonomy, and how workers’ groups, through new-age organising, are negotiating workers’ rights in this algorithmmified world of work.  

This podcast series is brought to you by IT for Change, and supported by Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Fair Green Global (FGG).

Host – Sonakshi Agarwal (IT for Change)

Expert Speakers:

• Shaikh Salauddin (Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers)
• Basudev Barman (International Transport Workers’ Federation)
• Spandan Pratyush (All India Gig Workers Union)
• Gayatri Singh (Senior Advocate)
• Salonie Hiriyadur (SEWA Cooperative Federation)
• Uma Rani (International Labour Organisation)

References and Additional Reading:

1. Workers’ Data Rights in the Platformised Workspace (IT for Change) - https://itforchange.net/node/2031

2. The Macro Frames of Microwork: A Study of Indian women workers on AMT in the post-pandemic moment (IT for Change) - https://itforchange.net/sites/default/files/1739/The-Macro-Frames-of-Microwork-Full-Report-ITfC-2021.pdf

3. WeClock – The app for workers (The Why Not Lab) - https://www.thewhynotlab.com/post/weclock

4. 10 Principles for Workers’ Data Rights and Privacy (UNI Global Union) - https://uniglobalunion.org/report/principles-for-workers-data-rights/

5. R198 - Employment Relationship Recommendation, 2006 (International Labour Organisation) - https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312535

6. ‘We’re being pushed into poverty’: Voices of women who took on the unicorn start-up Urban Company (Scroll) - https://scroll.in/magazine/1014700/were-being-pushed-into-poverty-voices-of-women-who-took-on-the-unicorn-start-up-urban-company

The second episode delves into the power that algorithms and data hold, in running this platform model of work. Experts explain how algorithmic management and control by platform apps has major implications for working conditions and worker autonomy, and how workers’ groups, through new-age organising, are negotiating workers’ rights in this algorithmmified world of work.  

This podcast series is brought to you by IT for Change, and supported by Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Fair Green Global (FGG).

Host – Sonakshi Agarwal (IT for Change)

Expert Speakers:

• Shaikh Salauddin (Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers)
• Basudev Barman (International Transport Workers’ Federation)
• Spandan Pratyush (All India Gig Workers Union)
• Gayatri Singh (Senior Advocate)
• Salonie Hiriyadur (SEWA Cooperative Federation)
• Uma Rani (International Labour Organisation)

In this first episode, we begin our journey to understand platformisation and its implications. We start by exploring how it all began - what the advent of technology has meant for the labour market, how the emergence of platform based work has been an important implication of it and why it’s gained such traction. We speak to labour economists and trade unionists to understand what platforms are, how and why platform-based gig work has gained popularity over the years, and what it means for the future of work especially in Global South countries.

This podcast series is brought to you by IT for Change, and supported by Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Fair Green Global (FGG). 

Host: Sonakshi Agarwal (IT for Change)

Guest Speakers:

Uma Rani (International Labour Organisation)

Salonie Hiriyadur (SEWA Federation)

Paaritosh Nath (Azim Premji University)

Basudev Barman (International Transport Workers’ Federation)

Spandan Pratyush (All India Gig Workers’ Union)

References and additional reading:

1. World Employment and Social Outlook - The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work (ILO)

https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_771749.pdf

2. World Development Report 2019 THE CHANGING NATURE OF WORK

https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2019

3. Decent work in the platform economy - Background document for the Meeting of experts on decent work in the platform economy (Geneva, 10–14 October 2022) (ILO)

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/non-standard-employment/whatsnew/WCMS_855048/lang--en/index.htm

4. Inputs to ILO meeting of experts on decent work in the platform economy (IT for Change)

https://itforchange.net/sites/default/files/add/ITfC-Policy-Inputs-on-Data-Rights-Decent-Work.pdf

5. Platform Planet – Development in the Intelligence Economy (IT for Change)

https://projects.itforchange.net/platformpolitics/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Platform-Planet-Development-in-the-Intelligence-Economy_ITfC_2019.pdf

Teaser for episode 1 of our podcast series, the Platform Predicament - making sense of a datafied future of work. 

This podcast series is brought to you by IT for Change, and supported by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Fair Green Global (FGG).