Gig-work on the Digital Labor Platform: Exploitation Disguised in Freedom is available on Vimeo On Demand.
The world has transformed since the spread of Covid-19. Mounting demands from remote work and services allowed IT companies to grow even larger. Some of the most recognizable among them are online food delivery platforms like Uber Eats.
Food delivery platforms are said to promise the delivery workers flexibility and ‘freedom at work.’ There are around 100,000 Uber Eats riders in Japan, but they do not have employment contracts with Uber Eats. The company claims that it just runs a matching service app. A delivery rider only signs an app user agreement with Uber Eats and undertakes the delivery as a ‘self-employed person.’ Without a labor contract, delivery riders cannot receive company-paid workers’ compensation in the event of an accident. They have no means of knowing how delivery requests are assigned and how rewards are determined, or the contents of reviews from restaurants and customers. They do not even have the means to raise these issues with the company.
In Europe, for example, the labor rights of platform workers are beginning to be recognized in the courts and in legislation, allowing them to have some social security benefits and means of collective bargaining.
In Japan, delivery riders formed the Uber Eats Union, demanding more transparency from the company and collective bargaining. This documentary follows the delivery riders’ struggle for their rights and exposes the truth of exploitation disguised in freedom.
[2022 / 35 min.]
- Supervisor: Yoshihito Kawakami
- Director: Tokachi Tsuchiya
- Producer: Shoko Uchida
- English Subtitles: Unfiltered (Chie Matsumoto, Kimberly Hughes）
- English Subtitles Supervisor: Shigeru Tanaka
This film is a production of Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC) based in Tokyo, Japan. The development of the film was in part supported by funding provided by Open Society Foundations (OSF).
Watch on Vimeo on Demand
Price
- Rental: 5.75 USD for 72 hour streaming
- Buy: 47.50 USD for unlimited streaming
The original Japanese version is also available:
『プラットフォームビジネス―「自由な働き方」の罠』
