Labor problems in the age of digital platforms: an institutionalist inquiry
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Data
2022-08-19
Autores
Jeronimo, Rodrigo Constantino [UNESP]
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Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Resumo
O objetivo desta tese é propor uma abordagem institucionalista aos problemas contemporâneos do mundo do trabalho em um contexto de avanço da chamada “plataformização”, em que trabalhadores se submetem à gestão algorítmica de suas atividades em ocupações intermitentes e sem vínculo empregatício, tendo as plataformas digitais como as going concerns responsáveis pela sua exploração. Ao adotar a teoria transacional de John R. Commons e sua leitura sobre os efeitos deletérios do avanço desregulado do capitalismo sobre a organização dos trabalhadores nos estágios iniciais do sistema moderno, a investigação das plataformas digitais concentra-se na análise dos conflitos de interesse entre capital e trabalho e na forma como a ação coletiva, atuando no controle do comportamento individual, atua na legitimação das práticas correntes do mundo digital. Formal ou informal, o trabalho em plataformas apresenta os elementos transacionais de barganha, gerenciamento e distribuição, ao mesmo tempo em que acentua a disparidade de poderes econômicos entre trabalhadores e os “apps”, resultando assim em transações não razoáveis, aqui consideradas como os problemas do trabalho na era digital. Buscando compreender as vicissitudes da atividade de motoristas de aplicativo, a principal atividade do gênero no Brasil, apresenta-se uma análise de microdados e entrevistas semi-estruturada com lideranças de associações de trabalhadores, permitindo, ao final, a exposição de uma periodização dessa atividade no país a partir dos principais conflitos entre trabalhadores, plataformas e o Estado. Conclui-se que, embora a organização de trabalhadores possa ser capturada por elementos ideológicos de autonomia do trabalho, e mesmo havendo barreiras à representação desse grupo heterogêneo sob efeito da crise econômica e da precarização, tais trabalhadores se organizam em face aos conflitos e atuam na busca de transações razoáveis com plataformas e o Estado no exercício de suas atividades diárias.
The objective of this dissertation is to propose an institutionalist approach to the contemporary problems in the world of labor in a context of the “platformization”, in which workers submit to the algorithmic management of their activities, in intermittent occupations and without an employment relationship, having the platforms as the going concerns responsible for their exploitation. By adopting John R. Commons' transactional theory and his reading of the deleterious effects of the unregulated advance of Big Business on the organization of workers in the early stages of modern capitalism, this investigation of digital platforms focuses on the analysis of the conflicts of interest. between capital and labor and in the way collective action, acting in the control of individual behavior, acts in the legitimation of current practices in the digital world. Whether formal or informal, platform work presents the transactional elements of bargaining, management, and rationing, while accentuating the disparity of economic powers between workers and the “apps”, thus resulting in unreasonable transactions, considered here as the labor problems in the age of digital platforms. Seeking to understand the vicissitudes of the activity of ride-haling drivers, the main activity of its kind in Brazil, a microdata analysis and semi-structured interviews with leaders of workers' associations are presented, allowing, in the end, the exposition of the periodization of this activity in the country, based on the main conflicts between workers, platforms and the State. It is concluded that, although the organization of workers can be captured by ideological elements of autonomy, and even with barriers to the representation of this heterogeneous group that faces the effects of the economic crisis and precariousness, such workers organize themselves in the face of conflicts and act in the pursuit of reasonable transactions with platforms and the State in the exercise of their daily activities.
The objective of this dissertation is to propose an institutionalist approach to the contemporary problems in the world of labor in a context of the “platformization”, in which workers submit to the algorithmic management of their activities, in intermittent occupations and without an employment relationship, having the platforms as the going concerns responsible for their exploitation. By adopting John R. Commons' transactional theory and his reading of the deleterious effects of the unregulated advance of Big Business on the organization of workers in the early stages of modern capitalism, this investigation of digital platforms focuses on the analysis of the conflicts of interest. between capital and labor and in the way collective action, acting in the control of individual behavior, acts in the legitimation of current practices in the digital world. Whether formal or informal, platform work presents the transactional elements of bargaining, management, and rationing, while accentuating the disparity of economic powers between workers and the “apps”, thus resulting in unreasonable transactions, considered here as the labor problems in the age of digital platforms. Seeking to understand the vicissitudes of the activity of ride-haling drivers, the main activity of its kind in Brazil, a microdata analysis and semi-structured interviews with leaders of workers' associations are presented, allowing, in the end, the exposition of the periodization of this activity in the country, based on the main conflicts between workers, platforms and the State. It is concluded that, although the organization of workers can be captured by ideological elements of autonomy, and even with barriers to the representation of this heterogeneous group that faces the effects of the economic crisis and precariousness, such workers organize themselves in the face of conflicts and act in the pursuit of reasonable transactions with platforms and the State in the exercise of their daily activities.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Economia Institucional, John R. Commons, Plataformas Digitais, Uberização, Motoristas, Digital platforms, Ride-hailing, Institutional economics