Journal |
Inequalities
Journal issue | Digital Platform Labour and (New) Inequalities
Research Article | Inequalities in the Platform Labour Market
Inequalities in the Platform Labour Market
A Study on Stratifications in the Italian Food Delivery Sector
Abstract
Riders’ working conditions in food delivery platforms have been at the centre of debate on the future of work. Yet, the situation has not changed much compared to the past. This article explains the differentiation of working conditions and social composition in the food delivery sector in Italy. The existence of three labour models will be highlighted: a ‘high’ one, where riders are classified as employees, with an hourly wage and whose labour process is contractually planned; a ‘low’ one, where they are self-employed, pieceworking and whose labour process is not contractually planned; an ‘undeclared’ one, where forms of gangmastering occur. Riders’ social composition is specific to each of them in terms of social and economic marginality.
Submitted: Nov. 23, 2024 | Accepted: March 17, 2025 | Published May 20, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Food delivery • Stratification • Platform work • Labour Process • Legal status
Copyright © 2025 Nicola Costalunga, Luigi Di Cataldo. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/INQ/3035-0395/2025/02/004
