Platform work, a non-standard form of employment, is a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
(4IR). In India, 7.7 million workers are engaged in the platform economy. and more than 3.3 million
people are working in the platform economy only. A large number of workers who rely on the platform
economy are migrant workers. Global South countries like India, Bangladesh, and China rely primarily
on domestic migrant workers who often migrate to major cities from regional areas, to provide services
such as ride-sharing, food delivery, and domestic and care work. The platform economy, with its least
barriers to entry, presents both new employment opportunities and novel challenges and precarity,
especially for developing economies like India. Particularly in the platform economy, some scholars
argue that platforms that adopt these employment arrangements perpetuate cycles of exploitation that
migrant workers have previously faced within traditional labour markets. Workers are forced to work
for long working hours by platform company algorithms and incentives which impacts their mental,
physical and social well-being. They are confined to a loop of work and waiting for work. This blurs
downtime with work time and is exhausting, transforming from an employment relationship to the
commodification of labour markets. Platform economies view the human body as a machine within
the supply chain. Scholars in the global north tried to understand the control and precariousness
of immigrant workers through the concept of digital Taylorism and biopolitics. The invisible hand
of this marketplace, contribute to the biopower of the company, making it difficult for workers to
organise and resist platform companies. These three frameworks – digital Taylorism, biopolitics,
and worker resistance – are compelling. Yet, do they apply to platform work in the global south,
particularly India? There is limited scholarly work that has examined the implications of platform
company governance on the working hours, well-being, and resistance of domestic migrant workers in
developing economies. The exploration of the platform economy and its workers from the perspective
of the global south is an emerging and evolving area of study. This research discusses how concepts
of digital Taylorism and biopolitics can be used to understand the resistance of migrant workers in
the Indian platform economy. It adopts a comprehensive methodological approach, utilising both
primary and secondary data sources to gain an in-depth understanding of the evolving socio-economic
landscape. Primary sources include 50 interviews with bike-based platform workers engaged in food
delivery and transport, offering a firsthand account of their experiences. Secondary sources comprise
government reports, workers’ blogs, and trade union records, providing additional perspectives.
Employing a qualitative methodology, this study integrates historical research and ethnography,
focussing specifically on regional migrant workers in India. Interviews extend to trade union officials
and government representatives, ensuring a multi-stakeholder perspective. To capture a more nuanced
viewpoint, the study incorporates netnography, leveraging insights from social media platforms to
enhance the contemporaneity of the research. This holistic approach aims to inform nuanced policy recommendations addressing challenges within the platform economy. By combining historical insights
with contemporary data, the methodology facilitates a thorough examination of the complexities
inherent in digital labour, amplifying marginalised voices and critically analysing structural constraints.
This research finds that the exploitation of regional platform workers is a multi-dimensional challenge
rooted in the absence of state-led regulatory frameworks, reliance on profit-maximising algorithms,
and the precarious nature of platform work. This vulnerability is compounded by the hesitancy of
workers to protest due to the perceived flexibility promised by the platform economy. The complex
narrative reflects the dilemma faced by migrant workers, caught between the pursuit of livelihood and
the fear of disrupting a precarious equilibrium. Examining this through the lens of digital Taylorism
highlights the control mechanisms ingrained in the platform economy, underscoring the urgent need
for regulatory safeguards and social protections for these vulnerable workers.
