The case of IWGB in the context of migrant platform labour shows how the dense and largely hidden work of interlocution can succeed in opening up democratic processes of inclusion and collective claims. To overcome inter-ethnic fractures, often instrumentalised by the digital labour platforms themselves, one of IWGB’s main strategies was to support co-ethnic networks and then extend struggles to all union members regardless of migration background. In addition, the systematic work of connecting with civil society associations and organisations such as Black Lives Matter helped to reconnect labour conflicts with social conflicts. Indeed, the alliances thus constructed aimed to question, and thus challenge, labour exploitative practices that are functional to the reproduction of the social status quo and racialised labour markets (Alberti & Sacchetto, 2024). This case study shows that the inclusive and democratic practices of collective organising of migrant and BAME workers contribute to restoring an overall meaning to work, understood as a form of emancipation.
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P. BORGHI AND A. MURGIA