Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship
Because of its relatively well-developed, highly urbanised economy and high penetration of mobile internet access, the platform economy took off quickly in South Africa, with international players vying for market share and local platforms pursuing more innovative approaches. Digital labour platform...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Digital Geography and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666378323000168 |
| _version_ | 1827577228133662720 |
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| author | Jean-Paul Van Belle Kelle Howson Mark Graham Richard Heeks Louise Bezuidenhout Pitso Tsibolane Darcy du Toit Sandra Fredman Paul Mungai |
| author_facet | Jean-Paul Van Belle Kelle Howson Mark Graham Richard Heeks Louise Bezuidenhout Pitso Tsibolane Darcy du Toit Sandra Fredman Paul Mungai |
| author_sort | Jean-Paul Van Belle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Because of its relatively well-developed, highly urbanised economy and high penetration of mobile internet access, the platform economy took off quickly in South Africa, with international players vying for market share and local platforms pursuing more innovative approaches. Digital labour platforms have offered new earning opportunities to many in the country, but concerns have been raised about the quality of jobs created, and whether they meet standards of decent work. South Africa was one of the pilot countries for the Fairwork Project. This article describes the specific conditions which supported the take-off of location-based digital labour platforms in South Africa, explains the methodology used for pursuing the Fairwork research, discusses ratings outcomes based on the empirical research and summarizes the action research component of the project—with particular attention paid to outcomes for workers. We also list some of the lessons that were learnt and give a critical reflection on the project in the hope of assisting other researchers investigating the fourth industrial revolution, the gig economy, and decent work standards, especially in the Global South. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:23:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0521ef98138d472ca6d86c428bcc5075 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-3783 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:23:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Geography and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-0521ef98138d472ca6d86c428bcc50752023-12-21T07:37:28ZengElsevierDigital Geography and Society2666-37832023-12-015100064Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarshipJean-Paul Van Belle0Kelle Howson1Mark Graham2Richard Heeks3Louise Bezuidenhout4Pitso Tsibolane5Darcy du Toit6Sandra Fredman7Paul Mungai8University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Corresponding author.University of Oxford, Oxford, UKUniversity of Oxford, Oxford, UKUniversity of Manchester, Manchester, UKUniversity of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaUniversity of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaUniversity of the Western Cape, Bellville, South AfricaUniversity of Oxford, Oxford, UKUniversity of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaBecause of its relatively well-developed, highly urbanised economy and high penetration of mobile internet access, the platform economy took off quickly in South Africa, with international players vying for market share and local platforms pursuing more innovative approaches. Digital labour platforms have offered new earning opportunities to many in the country, but concerns have been raised about the quality of jobs created, and whether they meet standards of decent work. South Africa was one of the pilot countries for the Fairwork Project. This article describes the specific conditions which supported the take-off of location-based digital labour platforms in South Africa, explains the methodology used for pursuing the Fairwork research, discusses ratings outcomes based on the empirical research and summarizes the action research component of the project—with particular attention paid to outcomes for workers. We also list some of the lessons that were learnt and give a critical reflection on the project in the hope of assisting other researchers investigating the fourth industrial revolution, the gig economy, and decent work standards, especially in the Global South.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666378323000168Fair workThe fairwork projectGig economyDigital platform workersSouth Africa |
| spellingShingle | Jean-Paul Van Belle Kelle Howson Mark Graham Richard Heeks Louise Bezuidenhout Pitso Tsibolane Darcy du Toit Sandra Fredman Paul Mungai Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship Digital Geography and Society Fair work The fairwork project Gig economy Digital platform workers South Africa |
| title | Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship |
| title_full | Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship |
| title_fullStr | Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship |
| title_short | Fair work in South Africa's gig economy: A journey of engaged scholarship |
| title_sort | fair work in south africa s gig economy a journey of engaged scholarship |
| topic | Fair work The fairwork project Gig economy Digital platform workers South Africa |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666378323000168 |
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