PLATFORM WORK IN ARGENTINA: WILL REGULATION CATCH UP WITH IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC?
By Pía Garavaglia, Researcher and Leader of the Fairwork Initiative in Argentina
The economic context of work has been quite severe for Argentina in the last few years. Not only the pandemic crisis, but also years of economic recessions impacted heavily on the labour market. One of the main consequences lies in the rise of unemployment as well as a higher participation of low-quality labour due to the destruction of formal jobs. This created a high increase in independent work, which includes platform work. Labour platforms, then, absorbed an important tide of the workforce affected by these crises.
The role of platform work for migrants
One of the things that was more characteristic of platform work in Argentina was low barriers for entry, low skill requirements and a flexible and autonomous job opportunity.
This led platforms to concentrate a workforce composed of young individuals, mostly men, seeking to generate income independently as well as migrants struggling to enter the Argentinian labour market. For example, at early stages 63.6% of workers for delivery platforms were, in fact, Venezuelan (ILO, 2019). These workers were mainly motivated to choose platforms due to their flexibility and the possibility to handle their own working schedule (Platform Workers Survey, CIPPEC, 2018).
However, as platforms began to grow and with the impact of the pandemic in 2020, things began to change.
Restrictions in platform work due to the pandemic
Once the pandemic began, the Argentinian government carried out strong quarantine measures and restrictions regarding distribution and consumption. The lockdown in Argentina during 2020 was one of the longest worldwide. However, its impact was not homogeneous: some economic sectors were boosted while some were heavily harmed. Platform work was no exception.
Delivery platforms were undoubtedly the ones that received the highest impulse. Since their activity was declared essential from the onset of lockdown, they never ceased to operate. This led platforms to absorb more workforce, and contributed to several stores and businesses continuing to operate via take-away or e-commerce. Although transport or ride-hailing platforms were not declared essential until a few months later, they soon began to grow as an attractive option due to the restrictions regarding public transport and by offering an alternative for maintaining social distance. In contrast, domestic service was not an activity stimulated by this context. The effects of the mobility restrictions and the advent of the home office implied that tasks related to child/adult care and housekeeping were quickly absorbed by each separate household.
Effects of the Pandemic on platform workers
The pandemic crisis led to a higher participation in independent work due to lack of formal and stable options. Platforms’ emergence in this context promoted partly the growth of this independent work, not only as a source for extra income, but also as a permanent alternative.
According to statistics, delivery and ride-hailing platforms absorbed a younger workforce, mainly of native origins (Platform Workers Survey, CIPPEC, 2021). The motivations declared by these workers to choose platforms consisted mainly of the impossibility of finding another job, or the necessity to generate an extra source of income, as opposed to the pre-pandemic data. In addition, their work hours showed considerable growth: among the 54% of drivers working over 45 hours per week, more than half worked with a lower hourly load prior to quarantine (24%); and overemployed riders were almost three times less busy (18% compared to the current 50%) (Platform Workers Survey, CIPPEC, 2021). This evidenced the exit of Argentinians from the traditional labour market, thus spreading inequality with precarious job opportunities.
The Regulatory Context
Although there have been some legal decisions in favour of recognizing platform workers as employees in Argentina, there have been no advances in regulation of platform work. There are five legislative projects in parliamentary proceedings and a further one being prepared by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, which has not yet been presented to Congress. These proposals deal mainly with the labour regulation of delivery platforms and tend to only discuss in depth the transition to a formal status of employment, providing little clarity on algorithmic management.
Even though formal employment guarantees access to labour rights, it can constitute only a limited solution to ensuring decent and fair working conditions. This is due to the inability to address issues specific to platform work such as flexible hours, or control of algorithm-based management. One of the main future challenges lies in designing regulatory initiatives that can adapt better to these new work modalities and that, in addition, apply to all areas in which they operate.
The proposal of a new directive to improve the working conditions of platform workers put forward by the European Commission spearheads the regulation of platforms, since it establishes a position accompanied by general guidelines to classify the employment relationship. However, the matter is far from being closed. Today, the regulatory context has not proven to provide a comprehensive solution. Platform workers continue to carry out their tasks autonomously, with a growing workload and deprived of common social facilities. An approach from national and sub-national legislation is necessary to guarantee that the growth of work platforms does not continue to reinforce inequalities.
The regulation of labour platforms and the new forms of employment that they generate represent a great challenge for public policies at the national, subnational, and transnational levels. Although important progress has been observed in regulatory matters such as the “rider law” in Spain[1] and the upcoming regulation of platform work in Chile[2], a solution has not yet been found that guarantees labour rights and promotes sustainable growth of work platforms.
Public policies at national level must guarantee access to labour rights, as well as the management of data and algorithmic transparency. On the other hand, local or subnational policies will need to promote better conditions in the areas in which the platforms operate, enhancing their virtues and preventing the mechanisms that promote inequity. To ensure a better integration of the workers, customers and suppliers who interact on the platforms, it is necessary to provide this ecosystem with clear institutions and guidelines that promote transversal growth. In other words, if a worker, an entrepreneur, a consumer, or an investor has greater regulatory support, platforms could become a key factor for sustainable urban development.
The opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Reshaping Work.
