Albert Cañigueral Bagó is fascinated by technology, platforms and the world of work. How did the sharing and gig economy develop? And what impact does technology have on workers now and in the future? This is what Martijn Arets discusses with him in The Gig Work Podcast of the WageIndicator Foundation.

The platform economy has undergone a considerable (r)evolution in 12 years. I myself have been exploring platforms and their impact on people and society since 2011. I was not alone: during my quest, I met several other explorers. One of my travelling companions is Albert Cañigueral Bagó. In 2011, he started the first Spanish blog on the sharing economy. Not much later, he came into contact with the organisation Ouishare, an international partnership of freelancers. “For me, the sharing economy was personally interesting because I don’t value property much,” he says. “I have a rented house, very little stuff. In addition, I saw many benefits for society and the environment. At Ouishare, I found like-minded people.”

Ouishare: a mix of visions

I first encountered Cañigueral in 2013, during the famous ‘Ouishare Fest’. This was a festival at Parc de la Fayette in Paris where 1,500 entrepreneurs, professionals and activists gathered to discuss the development of the sharing economy. “The special thing was that we brought together all the different perspectives,” Cañigueral says. “We at Ouishare were activists, we loved open source. For us, the success of big companies like Uber and AirBnb was disappointing. Still, we managed to have good conversations with these tech entrepreneurs about the future of sharing.”

This was also necessary, he says. “In Spain, delivery platforms Deliveroo and Glovo had just started and that led to conflicts immediately,” he says. “Logical. After all, the inventor of the boat is also the inventor of the sunken ship. The negative effects of platforms can never be completely avoided, but if we work together we can ensure that the positive effects prevail.”

Utopias for the world of work

When it comes to platform work, the biggest problem is the skewed power relationship between the platform and the platform workers, he says. A few years ago, he wrote a book on macroeconomic trends and their impact on labour: El trabajo ya no es lo que era (‘Work is not what it used to be’). In it, he explains, among other things, how the industrial revolution is transitioning into the digital revolution. “During the previous revolution we were children, now we are parents,” he says. “Now we also have to behave like adults. That means facing the facts and taking responsibility: we cannot ignore developments, we have to respond to them in a smart way.” 

We work differently in the digital age and platform work fits in with that, he explains. “The idea that a job always has to be 40 hours a week is outdated. Part-time, flexible or freelance work sometimes fits better with all the other pursuits in modern life, for example volunteering or taking care of our family.”

We are still in the middle of the transition, he says. His book contains seven utopian situations for the future of work and technology. “We can use these visions to approach a future where the positive effects of technology outweigh the negative.”

Collective action and cooperation

Previously, unions, for instance, protected workers from employers. Such collectives made for a less skewed balance of power. In a fragmented world, collaborations are more important than ever, Cañigueral stresses. “Platforms provide structured access to fragmented and often invisible work,” he explains. “But if the conditions in doing so are not clear or if you cannot influence them, you feel like a slave to the platform.”

Therefore, he says, new collectives are needed. As an example, he mentions the Worker Info Exchange, a non-profit organisation that helps platform workers gain insight into the data collected about them during their work. Read more in this interview with founder James Farrar.

That does not necessarily mean the end of existing unions, says Cañigueral. “Some will disappear, others will reinvent themselves. Collaborating with new initiatives is incredibly valuable. If they are willing to learn from each other and set up collective actions, it ultimately delivers more for working people.”

WorkerTech: collective facilities for those not in an employment relation

Platform workers lack collective services in addition to representation. As freelancers, they have to find their own ways to cope with retirement, disability and illness. So-called ‘WorkerTech’ are solutions to this. They are collective services especially for Glovo delivery drivers, Uber drivers or Fiverr freelancers, for example. Interestingly, WorkerTech is usually not reserved for one type of platform worker. Often such initiatives are open to freelancers working through various platforms.

For example, Pulpo.Life, a Latin American startup that arranges health insurance for platform workers and freelancers. Another example is Nippy, an Argentinian startup that offers all kinds of services for freelancers: from bank accounts to insurance. Cañigueral: “These kinds of initiatives prove that a permanent contract is not the only way to provide decent working conditions and collective services to workers. 

Cañigueral does not see WorkerTech as competing with public social security, but complementing it. “The government can learn from such initiatives. For example, such startups know better how to use data to respond to individual needs. But that requires mature politics.”

Analysis

Catching up and looking back with this good friend on the development of the platform economy gave me new insights. We both started our research journey in the sharing economy and later turned the focus to the job and platform economy and the future of work. The impact of technology on people, organisation and society was the common thread.

Cañigueral explains that we are in the midst of a major change. In my opinion, platforms are a logical testing ground for technologies that will eventually impact the entire labour market. Just look at WorkerTech, which was born out of a platform economy need but also offers many benefits for other workers. Increasingly, WorkerTech is also available to all workers: self-employed, employees or them working in the informal market. The reason these kinds of startups fit the needs of modern working people so well is because they can develop and adapt faster than existing institutions.

Finally, we discussed how social security can be shaped. It will be interesting to explore how we can ‘re-bundle’ these kinds of securities so that they do not only suit permanent salaried employees, but are of use to all kinds of workers.

Indeed, in the Western world, many securities are linked to the permanent contract, but this is not the case at all in many parts of the world. Moreover, in many countries the informal labour market is large: in Latin America, some 56 per cent of people work in the informal market. At other places in the world this percentage is even (much) higher. Currently, they are invisible to all institutions and have no protection at all. Platform work, as a gathering place, can give structure to this fragmented group of informal workers, bring them together and give them access to the securities and protection of WorkTech. So, especially in the non-Western world, this can be a substantial improvement.

This blog and podcast were also published on Gigpedia.org

Delivery riders connected to platform Glovo do not all get employment contracts, but are covered by the ‘Couriers Pledge’ in 21 countries. With this, the company promises delivery workers safety, community, equality and a fair income. Why, how does it work and what does a platform worker get out of it? Martijn Arets travelled to Barcelona and spoke to Glovo spokesperson Magalí Gurman.

This edition not a collection of articles on the platform economy, but a blog and podcast episode around Glovo’s ‘Couriers Pledge’: a delivery platform operating in 24 countries. Have fun reading and listening!

The main discussion about delivery via platforms is about whether such a platform should employ the couriers. After all, in many Western countries, things like safety and fair pay are linked to an employment contract. But this is far from common everywhere. Therefore, platforms are looking for ways to offer riders better conditions regardless of their employment status. One such platform company is Glovo. For The Gig Work Podcast from the WageIndicator Foundation, I travelled to Barcelona and sat down with Magalí Gurman, Institutional affairs & government relations at Glovo.

From customer to courier: keeping everyone happy

The creators of delivery service Glovo know all too well how important international differences are. The Spanish company operates in 24 countries in Southern Europe, Eastern Asia and Africa, among others. Through the Glovo app, delivery drivers bring all kinds of products to private customers: from meals to flowers and groceries. Customers order something from a restaurant or retailer via the Glovo app, the delivery drivers pick it up and bring it to the customer as soon as possible.

“So basically we have three sorts of clients: customers, retailers and delivery drivers,” Gurman says. “Each has its own app with corresponding processes, because we are providing a different service for each user.”

Local differences

In addition, operational needs differ by region, she explains. “For example, here in Barcelona it is normal for delivery drivers to ride bikes or scooters. In cold Romania, on the contrary, most couriers deliver by car. What we also see is that delivery times changes from city to city because of different reasons, like the state of the streets, and therefore, people are used to different types of services. Moreover, laws and regulations vary from country to country.”

It is up to Glovo to meet all these needs and preferences, she says. “Our goal is for all users to be satisfied, not just the end customers.”

‘Flexibility does not exclude good working conditions’

To better meet the needs of couriers, Glovo introduced a ‘Couriers Pledge’ in 2021. With this, the company aims to improve the conditions for all couriers, regardless of their working status. “Two years ago, there was much less regulation around platform workers than now,” she says. “We wanted to lead the way and show that the flexibility of the platform economy does not preclude good working conditions.”

Because there are big international differences in legislation and preferences, Glovo introduces the Pledge on a country-by-country basis each time. This starts with research into local laws and regulations and an exploration of the possibilities within the organisation. How much money and people does the platform have available in this region? Meanwhile, 21 of the 24 countries each have their own Pledge.

“With this, we want to set a standard example for the platform economy sector,” says Gurman.     

Safety, community, equality and income

The Pledge rests on four pillars: safety, community, equality and fair earnings. Once a rider has delivered a certain number of products within a certain period of time, they can access these benefits. For example, couriers get safety training, helmets and parental leave. The exact conditions vary from country to country and depend on the couriers’ preferences, among other things. 

Under the ‘community’ pillar, Glovo organises events to connect couriers with each other. “Sometimes we discover needs we could never have thought of ourselves. For instance, it turned out that relatively many couriers in Kenya had eye problems. We work with a company that does eye checks and we reimburse glasses if needed.”

The current Pledge is the foundation, says Gurman. “We want to be more and more responsive to what couriers need to deliver in a healthy and safe way. Satisfied couriers are also good for business. That’s why we keep researching, talking and adapting.”

Independent help

Glovo also works with two independent organisations around fair working conditions and pay for platform workers:  Fairwork and the WageIndicator Foundation. “Organisations like these keep us on our toes,” says Gurman. “An organisation like Fairwork critically assesses our practices and sets our conditions against those of other platforms. This is how Fairwork helps us improve operations. Our working conditions in Africa are currently the best rated in that region.”

WageIndicator Foundation helps Glovo with the third pillar of the Pledge: payment. “This is the most important issue for couriers and at the same time the most complicated,” says Gurman. “WageIndicator helps us with data on living wages and minimum wages for comparable work. Rates vary from country to country and are constantly changing.”

Most Glovo couriers work as freelancers. Political parties and trade unions in several countries advocate giving these workers employment contracts. “An employment contract does not necessarily lead to better working conditions,” says Gurman. “What an employment contract means for working conditions varies greatly from country to country. The Pledge applies to every courier, regardless of the form of contract.”

Labour contract is not always an improvement

Gurman is right: a labour contract is by no means always better for a courier. For example, if delivery workers are employed through a middleman, they often get the most minimal protection legally possible.

Moreover, it is not always what working people want, figures from the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest show. In only 20% of all demonstrations do workers ask for a labour contract, analysis of nearly 2,000 protests shows. This varies greatly by country. For instance, ’employment status’ is an issue in 37.1% of protests in North America, because it brings more security there. In Africa, it was an issue in only 4.7% of protests, because a contract offers hardly any benefits there. 

Analysis

I like how Glovo is trying to improve conditions for couriers. Especially when you know that working as a delivery driver is done in an informal way in many countries. So before, couriers had no protection at all.

 For Glovo, it is a balancing act between what is allowed and what is possible, including financially. And it is true that an employment contract is not worth the same everywhere, but in certain (European) countries it does offer more protection. Could the Pledge be an addition there? There are also several important employment conditions not included in the Pledge. Consider transparency, explainability and accountability of automatic decision-making processes and worker representation. According to Gurman, this is now “not always legally possible”, but that is a little too easily dismissed. In my opinion, there is quite a solution to this. Where there is a will, there is a way.

So the Pledge is not yet perfect, but it is a good step in the right direction and a great example of how to take into account different wishes and circumstances in various countries in which a platform operates.