They mindfully dodge the algorithmic surveillance of DLPs, relying on members of their bastis to generate additional employment and support through informal, under-the-radar networks that operated beyond the digital panopticon. Thus, even before unionising with gig worker union, the well-established labour networks within IMFK and the spatial fixity of the bastis provided lower-class migrant gig workers with breathing space to find workarounds against the exploitative nature of DLPs.
While organising workers in algorithmically enforced, spatially dispersed workforces, such as those in location-based DLPs, has often proven challenging for unions (Dhar & Thuppilikkat, 2022; Thuppilkkat, 2024), in this context, the spatial fixity of lower-class migrant workers bastis provided a unique entry point. It allowed tech workers to step in as external organizers, leveraging these anchored spaces to build solidarity and mobilize workers not only for workplace issues but also for broader livelihood struggles.
Notably, the effort by tech workers to organize gig workers navigating DLPs was also a conscious political decision, taken up by their AIITEU union. On the one hand, gig workers were critical infrastructures supporting the lives of tech workers in the city. On the other hand, it represented an experiment in finding converging points between tech workers and gig workers, both navigating tech-mediated workspaces. As Palash explained:
“We could see them being exploited every day. In Electronic City, where I live, half of the population is either part of these gigs or dependent on them. Many bachelors come here who don’t have the time or skills to cook, but they have money. What do they do? They order. For groceries, you can have home delivery, and for transportation, you can take an auto or bike through an app. Going out, finding an auto, and bargaining with the driver in a foreign language for the fare is like a massive task. But with the app, you’re free from all those hassles. So, gig workers are part of our everyday life.”
Furthermore, as tech-worker Sumit argued:
“If you are politicised enough, you will understand how the corporations that send you abroad on business trips are actually exploiting you. It is natural that you would understand the precarity these people [Gig workers] are going through. So, it was a thoughtful attempt from the union’s side to think in this direction.”
9 TRANSVERSAL UNIONISM: RESISTING AND NAVIGATING
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