Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-06-03T04:23:51.637Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Illusory freedom of physical platform workers: Insights from Uber Eats in Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Hamza Umer Open the ORCID record for Hamza Umer [Opens in a new window]
Hamza Umer*
Affiliation:
Hitotsubashi University, Japan
*
Hama Umer, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo 186-8603, Japan. Emails: hamzaumer@akane.waseda.jp; hamzaumer@ier.hit-u.ac.jp
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Platform work is often advocated as offering freedom of work to labour. Contesting this claim, this article undertakes a comparative analysis of the pros and cons of food delivery platform work prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and argues that the freedom of food delivery platform workers is essentially an ‘illusory freedom’. In reality, platform work has only changed mechanisms through which companies can exercise control over labour and evade their employer obligations. As a case, the article examines the illusory freedom of food delivery platform workers associated to Uber Eats in Japan. The collective bargaining efforts of food delivery workers against the excessive control of Uber Eats and the extent of success of these efforts are also examined. The article concludes by discussing the possible factors that have undermined the effectiveness of the collective bargaining efforts of the labour union.

Keywords

J52J81COVID-19food deliveryJapanplatform workUber Eatsunions
Type
Rethinking work organisation and labour relations
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , September 2021 , pp. 437 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aloisi, A (2016) Commoditized workers: case study research on labor law issues arising from a set of on-demand/gig economy platforms. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal 37(3): 653–690.Google Scholar
Artero, JM, Borra, C, Gómez-Alvarez, R (2020) Education, inequality and use of digital collaborative platforms: the European case. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 31(3): 364–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baiyere, A, Islam, N, Mäntymäki, M (2019) Duality of work in sharing economy – insights from Uber. AIS eLibrary. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2019/virtual_communities/virtual_communities/13/ (accessed 18 November 2020).Google Scholar
Bellace, JR (2018) Back to the future: workplace relations and labour law in the 21st century in the Asia Pacific context. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 56(4): 433–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, J, Connell, J (2020) New technology and work: exploring the challenges. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 31(3): 310–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collier, RB, Dubal, VB, Carter, C (2017) Labor platforms and gig work: the failure to regulate. IRLE Working Paper No. 106-17. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4c8862zj (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Conger, K (2020) Uber and Lyft drivers in California will remain contractors. The New York Times, 4 November. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/technology/california-uber-lyft-prop-22.html (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
Degryse, C (2016) Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets. ETUI Research Paper-Working Paper No. 2016-02. Available at: http://gesd.free.fr/degryse216e.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Dubal, VB (2017) Winning the battle, losing the war? Assessing the impact of misclassification litigation on workers in the gig economy. Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/faculty_scholarship/1598 (accessed 10 October 2020).Google Scholar
Easton, MD, Noack, AM, Vosko, LF (2020) Are franchisees more prone to employment standards violations than other businesses? Evidence from Ontario, Canada. The Economic and Labour Relations Review. Epub ahead of print 14 October. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1035304620961862. Google Scholar
Filip, B (2012) Polanyi and Hayek on freedom, the state, and economics. International Journal of Political Economy 41(4): 69–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flanagan, F (2019) Theorising the gig economy and home-based service work. Journal of Industrial Relations 61(1): 57–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, RB, Weitzman, ML (1987) Bonuses and employment in Japan. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies 1(2): 168–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillespie, P (2017) Intuit: gig economy is 34% of US workforce. CNN Money, 24 May. Available at: https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/24/news/economy/gig-economy-intuit/index.html (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
GoGlobal (2020) Uber Eats forms labor union in Japan. 20 February. Available at: https://goglobalgeo.com/en/uber-eats-forms-labor-union-in-japan/ (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
Graham, M (2017) Towards a Fairer Gig Economy. Meatspace Press. Available at: https://issuu.com/meatspacepress/docs/towards_a_fairer_gig_economy (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
Hart, RA, Kawasaki, S (1999) Work and Pay in Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, EA, O’Connor, RC, Perry, VH, et al. (2020) Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. The Lancet Psychiatry 7(6): 547–560.Google Scholar
Holtgrewe, U (2014) New technologies: the future and the present of work in information and communication technology. New Technology, Work and Employment 29(1): 9–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, J (2006) The rise of crowdsourcing. Wired Magazine 14(6): 1–4.Google Scholar
Huws, U, Spencer, NH, Syrdal, DS (2018) Online, on call: the spread of digitally organised just-in-time working and its implications for standard employment models. New Technology, Work and Employment 33(2): 113–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training (JILPT) (2016) Labor situation in Japan and its analysis: general overview 2015/2016. Available at: https://www.jil.go.jp/english/lsj/general/2015-2016/2015-2016.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training (JILPT) (2019) Trade union density and membership rates, Table 7.1/. Available at: https://www.jil.go.jp/kokunai/statistics/databook/2019/07/d2019_T7-01.pdf (accessed 1 January 2021).Google Scholar
Japan Today (2020) Uber Eats union wants better accident compensation. Japan Today, 22 July. Available at: https://japantoday.com/category/national/update1-uber-eats-union-wants-better-accident-compensation-amid-virus (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
Kaine, S, Josserand, E (2019) The organisation and experience of work in the gig economy. Journal of Industrial Relations 61(4): 479–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kato, T (2016) Productivity, wages and unions in Japan. Geneva: International Labor Union. Available at: http://ilo.ch/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—travail/documents/publication/wcms_465070.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Kawana, Y, Eguchi, R, Tomobe, N (2019) Restaurants in Japan boost delivery services ahead of tax windfall. Nikkei Asian Review, 19 January. Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Restaurants-in-Japan-boost-delivery-services-ahead-of-tax-windfall (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
Kelly, J (2020) Proposed hazard pay law for gig-workers is part of the new battle between workers and big companies. Forbes, 11 June. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/06/11/proposed-5-hazard-pay-law-for-gig-workers-is-part-of-the-new-battle-between-workers-and-big-companies/?sh=6c6943777a1f Google Scholar
Kenney, M, Zysman, J (2016) The rise of the platform economy. Issues in Science and Technology 32(3): 61–69.Google Scholar
Klein, S (2017) Fictitious freedom: a Polanyian critique of the republican revival. American Journal of Political Science 61(4): 852–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuek, SC, Paradi-Guilford, C, Fayomi, T, et al. (2015) The Global Opportunity in Online Outsourcing. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/138371468000900555/pdf/ACS14228-ESW-white-cover-P149016-Box391478B-PUBLIC-World-Bank-Global-OO-Study-WB-Rpt-FinalS.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Kyodo News (2019a) Uber Eats delivery staff in Japan form labor union. Kyodo News, 3 October. Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/10/d2198529f08b-update1-uber-eats-delivery-staff-in-japan-form-labor-union.html (accessed 19 November 2020).Google Scholar
Kyodo News (2019b) Uber Eats labor union in Japan calls for pay cuts to be reversed. Kyodo News, 6 December. Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/12/a13760e0091f-corrected-uber-eats-labor-union-in-japan-calls-for-pay-cuts-to-be-reversed.html (accessed 10 December 2020).Google Scholar
Kyodo News (2020a) Tokyo Uber Eats union demands hazard pay, protection against coronavirus. Kyodo News, 10 April. Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/04/4b0ebbd6dce7-tokyo-uber-eats-union-demands-hazard-pay-protection-against-virus.html (accessed 11 November 2020).Google Scholar
Kyodo News (2020b) Uber Eats sees 20% contract jump in March as eateries losing guests. Kyodo News, 21 April. Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/04/124cbc236bba-uber-eats-sees-20-contract-jump-in-march-as-eateries-losing-guests.html (accessed 11 November 2020).Google Scholar
Kyodo News (2020c) Uber Eats union wants better accident compensation amid virus. Kyodo News, 21 July. Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/07/bbe3f0d19ff7-uber-eats-union-wants-better-accident-compensation-amid-virus.html (accessed 20 November 2020).Google Scholar
Lane, I (2020) With five food delivery drivers killed in two months, Australia’s gig economy faces a reckoning. The New Daily, 26 November. Available at: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/11/26/ubereats-delivery-deaths-australia/ (accessed 1 January 2021).Google Scholar
Lobel, O (2017) The gig economy & the future of employment and labor law. University of San Francisco Law Review 51(1): 51–74.Google Scholar
Lorenzi, M (2006) Power: a radical view by Steven Lukes. Crossroads 6(2): 87–95.Google Scholar
Lukes, S (2004) Power: A Radical View. Basingstoke: Macmillan International Higher Education.Google Scholar
Mäntymäki, M, Baiyere, A, Islam, AN (2019) Digital platforms and the changing nature of physical work: insights from ride-hailing. International Journal of Information Management 49: 452–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsui, S (2019) Is law killing the development of new technologies? Uber and Airbnb in Japan. Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law 25(1): 100–144.Google Scholar
Matsunaga, M, Hariya, N, Kimura, S, et al. (2020) The consumer impact of Corona virus in Japan. Euromonitor International, 22 June. Available at: https://blog.euromonitor.com/the-consumer-impact-of-coronavirus-in-japan/ (accessed 7 November 2020).Google Scholar
Méndez, LM (ed.) (2020) Regulating the Platform Economy: International Perspectives on New Forms of Work. Abingdon: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) (2013) Labor policies and labor unions. Available at: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/affairs/dl/130226-01.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Minter, K (2017) Negotiating labour standards in the gig economy: airtasker and Unions New South Wales. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 28(3): 438–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, P, Robinson, A (2015) The quantified self: what counts in the neoliberal workplace. New Media & Society 18(11): 2774–2792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, PV (2017) The Quantified Self in Precarity: Work, Technology and What Counts. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murata, H (2020) The gig economy reaches Japan. Nippon News, 8 May. Available at: https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00547/ (accessed 30 October 2020).Google Scholar
Nippon News (2019) Uber Eats delivery workers in Japan form labor union. Nippon News, 3 October. Available at: https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2019100301179/uber-eats-delivery-workers-in-japan-form-labor-union.html (accessed 13 September 2020).Google Scholar
Nippon News (2020) Uber Eats deliverers involved in accidents amid demand surge. Nippon News, 26 May. Available at: https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020052600101/ (accessed 13 September 2020).Google Scholar
O’Donoghue, JJ (2020) One courier’s take on making Uber Eats deliveries during a pandemic. The Japan Times, 6 June. Available at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2020/06/06/food/uber-eats-delivery-coronavirus/ (accessed 18 October 2020).Google Scholar
Odell, M (2017) May defends labour market flexibility in gig economy. Financial Times, 11 July. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/33e4eb1f-5267-373d-bbe0-7c4dee91f2c1 (accessed 26 October 2020).Google Scholar
Oei, SY (2018) The trouble with gig talk: choice of narrative and the worker classification fights. Law and Contemporary Problems 81: 107–136.Google Scholar
Ohashi, I (1989) On the determinants of bonuses and basic wages in large Japanese firms. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies 3(4): 451–479.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2019) Extending Coverage and the Future of Social Protection in Asia and the Pacific, in Society at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2019. Paris: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Pfeiffer, S, Kawalec, S (2020) Justice expectations in crowd and platform-mediated work. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 31(4): 483–501.Google Scholar
Polanyi, K (1977) The economistic fallacy. Review (Fernand Braudel Center) 1(1): 9–18.Google Scholar
Poon, TSC (2019) Independent workers: growth trends, categories, and employee relations implications in the emerging gig economy. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 31(1): 63–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenbluth, FM, Thies, MF (2010) Japan Transformed: Political Change and Economic Restructuring. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothenberg, P (2016) Uber Eats officially launches in Tokyo. Tech in Asia, 28 September. Available at: https://www.techinasia.com/ubereats-official-tokyo-launch (accessed 22 September 2020).Google Scholar
Scholz, T (2016) Platform Cooperativism. Challenging the Corporate Sharing Economy. New York: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.Google Scholar
Shan, D, Zhang, P (2020) Enforcing workers’ compensation rights for Chinese seafarers in human resource supply chains. The Economic and Labour Relations Review. Epub ahead of print 3 November. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1035304620962724. Google Scholar
Shibata, S (2016) Resisting Japan’s neoliberal model of capitalism: intensification and change in the contemporary patterns of class struggle. British Journal of Industrial Relations 54(3): 496–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shibata, S (2017) Re-packaging old policies? ‘Abenomics’ and the lack of an alternative growth model for Japan’s political economy. Japan Forum 29(3): 399–422.Google Scholar
Shibata, S (2019) Paradoxical autonomy in Japan’s platform economy. Science, Technology and Society 24(2): 271–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shibata, S (2020) Gig work and the discourse of autonomy: fictitious freedom in Japan’s digital economy. New Political Economy 25(4): 535–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shinjuku City (2020) All bike riders must enroll in bicycle insurance. Available at: http://www.foreign.city.shinjuku.lg.jp/en/seikatsu/seikatsu_44/ (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Solomon, B (2019) Looking overseas to solve Japan’s labour shortage. The Japan Times, 8 November. Available at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/11/08/commentary/japan-commentary/looking-overseas-solve-japans-labor-shortage/#.XwQhcC2cZQI (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
Srnicek, N (2017) Platform Capitalism. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Statista (2020) Online food delivery. Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/374/121/online-food-delivery/japan (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Statistics Bureau of Japan (2020) Summary of the May 2020 survey results. Available at: https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/roudou/results/month/index.html (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Steinberg, M (2019) The Platform Economy: How Japan Transformed the Consumer Internet. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Stewart, A, Stanford, J (2017) Regulating work in the gig economy: what are the options? The Economic and Labour Relations Review 28(3): 420–437.Google Scholar
Tarrant, J, Sakai, H (2020) Waiting on Olympics, Japanese fencer turns to Uber Eats for fitness, money. Reuters, 13 May. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-olympics-fencer-idUSKBN22P040 (accessed 17 July 2020).Google Scholar
Taylor, M, Marsh, G, Nicol, D, et al. (2017) Good work: The Taylor review of modern working practices. Report. London: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial, July. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627671/good-work-taylor-review-modern-working-practices-rg.pdf (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
The Asahi Shimbun (2019) Uber eats staff forms union, wants security delivered hot. The Asahi Shimbun, 4 October. Available at: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201910040048.html (accessed 8 October 2020).Google Scholar
The Asahi Shimbun (2020) Japan’s low unemployment rate hides deeper labor market pain. The Asahi Shimbun, 27 May. Available at: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13427311 (accessed 9 September 2020).Google Scholar
The Japan Times (2020a) Tokyo Uber Eats union demands hazard pay and equipment to protect against virus. The Japan Times, 11 April. Available at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/11/business/corporate-business/tokyo-uber-eats-union-hazard-pay-coronavirus/ (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
The Japan Times (2020b) Uber Eats sees 205 contract jump in Japan as restaurants lose guests. The Japan Times, 21 April. Available at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/21/business/uber-eats-contract-jump-eateries-japan-coronavirus/#.XwnD6i2cZQI (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
The Japan Times (2020c) Use of telecommuting in Tokyo surged from 24% to 63% in two months, survey says. The Japan Times, 16 May. Available at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/16/business/corporate-business/use-telecommuting-tokyo-surged-24-63-two-months-survey-says/#.XweITS2cZ0s (accessed 20 December 2020).Google Scholar
The Mainichi (2019) Japan consumers, sellers confused over different sales tax for eat-in, take away. The Mainichi, 2 October. Available at: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20191002/p2a/00m/0fe/023000c (accessed 8 August 2020).Google Scholar
The Mainichi (2020a) Japanese fencer Olympic medalist takes on Uber Eats to earn money, train for Tokyo Games. The Mainichi, 20 June. Available at: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200619/p2a/00m/0sp/034000c (accessed 8 September 2020).Google Scholar
The Mainichi (2020b) Japan’s Uber Eats delivery workers threatened by dangerous driving: labor union. The Mainichi, 7 February. Available at: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200207/p2a/00m/0na/014000c (accessed 10 November 2020).Google Scholar
Tronsor, WJ (2018) Unions for workers in the gig economy: time for a new labor movement. Labor Law Journal 69(4): 181–193.Google Scholar
Uber Eats (2019) Uber Eats launches partner support program for all delivery partners in Japan. Available at: https://www.uber.com/ja-JP/newsroom/uber-eats-partner-support-program/ (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Uber Eats (2020) Available at: https://www.ubereats.com/jp-en/location (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Valenduc, G, Vendramin, P (2016) Work in the Digital Economy: Sorting the Old from the New, vol. 3. Working Paper No. 2016.03. Brussels: European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/173373 (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Vandaele, K (2018) Will trade unions survive in the platform economy? Emerging patterns of platform workers’ collective voice and representation in Europe. Working Paper No. 2018.05. European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). Available at: http://grupo.us.es/iwpr/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WorkingPaper2018.05VandaeleTradeunionsPlatformeconomyWeb.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Yano Research Institute (2017) Food delivery service market in Japan: key research findings 2017. Available at: https://www.yanoresearch.com/press/pdf/1733.pdf (accessed 27 July 2020).Google Scholar
Yun, J (2016) The setback in political entrepreneurship and employment dualization in Japan, 1998–2012. British Journal of Industrial Relations 54(3): 473–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, N (2020) Deaths of two food delivery riders in Sydney throws spotlight on gig workers’ conditions. The Guardian, 8 October. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/08/deaths-of-two-food-delivery-riders-in-sydney-throws-spotlight-on-gig-workers-conditions (accessed 11 November 2020).Google Scholar
Zwick, A (2018) Welcome to the gig economy: neoliberal industrial relations and the case of Uber. GeoJournal 83(4): 679–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar