Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy The Intersection of Migrant Labour, Platform Capitalism, and Resistance · 第 104 页

India suffers from a massive underdevelopment, and some regions suffer from it more than others.¹¹ The ones that suffer the most become the sources of migrant workers for the developed areas. Certain key regions which have been fulfilling this role for Indian megacities can be said to have been the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and other north-eastern states.¹²

The extremes of uneven development that characterise modern India have created the conditions under which urban spaces in India have been witnessing a large-scale migration of marginalised populace from the country’s underdeveloped areas to the relatively more developed ones. Capitalism creates uneven development in such a way so that a constant supply of cheap and exploitable labour force can be rendered perennially available. For platforms, it becomes very important because uneven development creates the basis for rural-to-urban migration in India, which contributes to the normalisation of capitalist social processes within the gig economy despite the income of many gig workers suffering after Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the domain of delivery work where income has almost halved with increased job insecurity and high attrition rates.¹³ Immigrant working-class individuals continue to face the dual exploitation exerted upon them by capitalism both at the local level and at the global level because while their exploitation takes place concretely at the local level, the mechanisms devised for the purpose and the effects of the same are felt globally.¹⁴

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¹¹ See The Economist. (2017). The gap between India’s richer and poorer states is widening. September 02, https://www.economist.com/finance-and-econom ics/2017/09/02/the-gap-between-indias-richer-and-poorer-states-is-widening [Accessed 04.07.2024].

¹² See https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1941077 [Accessed 04.07.2024].

¹³ See Mittal, A., & Mishra, D. (2021). Food delivery workers protest ‘exploitation’ on Twitter; companies deny charges. The Economic Times, August 04, https://econom ictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/food-delivery-workers-protest-exploitation-ontwitter-companies-deny-charges/articleshow/85016422.cms. Also see Sakunia, S. (2021). Hands that deliver food are struggling to feed themselves. The Leaflet, August 27, https://theleaflet.in/hands-that-deliver-food-are-struggling-to-feed-themselves/ [Accessed 04.07.2024].

¹⁴ It is important to understand that the platform economy remains entrenched within a web of global capital flows where change within one particular context has ramifications across the globe (Amorim & Moda, 2020).