Uber drivers in Cape Town: Working conditions and worker agency in the sharing economy

Abstract

The effects of the sharing economy on labour have been intensely discussed in recent years. Some are praising the effective, and sustainability implications of the sharing economy. Others are critiquing the deregulation of labour and growth of non-standard labour relations that shift risk from employer to employee. While the discussions have largely taken place in a US or European context, the sharing economy is not limited to the global North. This study examines the working conditions of Uber drivers in Cape Town and explores how drivers are responding to these conditions through individual and collective agency. The study is based on twenty-one in-depth interviews with Uber drivers, most of which were conducted as a passenger, and union representatives. The findings suggest that Uber drivers experience tough working conditions, including long working hours, high job insecurity and exposure to harm. This is complicated by a system of renting cars to Uber drivers as many drivers in Cape Town do not own their own car. Network effects on platforms also becomes a mechanism that are pushing drivers to adapt to customer’s demands and to ensure good ratings. The study uncovers how driver’s individual agency is constrained by a competitive labour market and by the asymmetrical power positions between drivers and Uber. Uber also constrains collective organization by challenging workers solidarity by fragmenting the work place and labour relations. The study demonstrates how the spatiality of collective organization plays an important role in developing worker solidarity and collective agency.