Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Domestic Work and the Gig Economy

Sedacca, N.

Domestic Work and the Gig Economy Thumbnail


Authors



Contributors

V. De Stefano
Editor

I. Durri
Editor

C. Stylogiannis
Editor

M. Wouters
Editor

Abstract

The provision of cleaning, childcare and other housework through online platforms is an increasingly important sector. This chapter identifies key challenges domestic work in the gig economy creates for workers' rights protections and proposes an agenda for future research. It argues that well-documented risks of the gig economy model such as lack of security and denial of employment rights tend to exacerbate pre-existing shortcomings in the regulation of domestic work, while platforms provide new mechanisms for the surveillance and control of workers. The longstanding devaluation of domestic work as manifested in the gig economy is then analysed, with reference to uncertain hours and segmentation of women into low-paid roles. The chapter further considers constraints on collective bargaining in domestic work and the gig economy, discussing two rare examples of collective agreements with domestic work platforms and highlighting the importance of universalist legal protection of workers' rights and freedom of association.

Citation

Sedacca, N. (2022). Domestic Work and the Gig Economy. In V. De Stefano, I. Durri, C. Stylogiannis, & M. Wouters (Eds.), A Research Agenda for the Gig-Economy and Society (149-166). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800883512.00016

Online Publication Date Nov 15, 2022
Publication Date 2022
Deposit Date Sep 29, 2022
Publicly Available Date May 15, 2023
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing
Pages 149-166
Series Title Elgar Research Agendas
Book Title A Research Agenda for the Gig-Economy and Society
Chapter Number 9
ISBN 9781800883505
DOI https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800883512.00016

Files

Accepted Book Chapter (365 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This is a draft chapter/article. The final version is available in A Research Agenda for the Gig Economy and Society edited by De Stefano, V., Durri, I., Stylogiannis, C., Wouters, M., published in 2022, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800883512.00016

The material cannot be used for any other purpose without further permission of the publisher, and is for private use only.




You might also like



Downloadable Citations