5. Platform Precarity of Food-Delivery Drivers

This chapter delves into the precarious lives of food-delivery drivers in China, focusing on the roles of the state and platform management in creating and perpetuating precarious labour conditions. It examines the digital transformation of work and managerial regimes, highlighting how platform work often leads to increased labour de-standardisation, commodification, and casualisation. The chapter introduces the concept of 'implicit precarity', referring to the subjective experiences of precarious workers, including lack of social recognition and marginalisation. It also explores the use of algorithmic technologies to control the labour process, the gamification of work, and the impact of citizenship precarity on rural migrant workers. The chapter concludes by discussing the limited capacity of drivers to resist these conditions and the need for further research and policy interventions to address the challenges faced by platform workers.