Work

‘It’s labour exploitation, but fortunately there is a lot of solidarity’. A qualitative case study with cleaning platform workers in Berlin

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This article explores the implications for the lives of migrant worker of Digital Labour Platforms (DLPs). By exploring the case of a group of Latin American women in Berlin working for a cleaning DLP, the study investigates their experience in relation to their migration status, working through DLPs, and dealing with clients. Findings show that, despite facing significant constraints such as administrative limitations, exploitative working conditions, or abusive clients, several forms of agency are exercised, both at the individual and collective levels. We thus contribute to the literature on migrant workers’ agency in two main ways. First, we point out the impossibility of approaching work experience without taking into account its interweaving with other spheres of life. Second, we discuss how oppression and empowerment are entangled, joining the debate that rejects the binary categories of victimhood and agency and focus attention also on the forms of agency that remain invisible.

Source: Globalizations

DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2025.2485788

Authors: Mathilde Mondon-Navazo, Annalisa Murgia

Institutions: Université Grenoble Alpes, University of Milan

Language: English

Topic: Digital Economy and Work Transformation

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Gender equality

Open Access status: green

Funder: H2020 European Research Council