‘Platform Precarity’: Exploring the Labor Conditions of Food Delivery Riders in Dhaka City

Widespread advancement in communication technologies along with changing consumption patterns have dramatically transformed the world of work by engaging people and businesses for contract labor. The advent of app-based food delivery platforms, a recent addition to metro cities like Dhaka, is catering the fast-growing demands of the consumers. The apparent work ‘flexibility’ in this platform-based work attracts vast number of unemployed youths including many students. These types of work, colloquially known as “rider” to deliver food or grocery items, is gaining popularity as part-time or full-time job. With the emergence of contractual labor regime, the insecure working conditions have also accelerated. The food delivery apps i.e., “Food Panda”, “HungryNaki” and “Pathao” work as primary interface between the riders, app companies, restaurants, and the consumers. The delivery riders working in this sector are mostly migrants and hold a vulnerable position in society. Moreover, the riders are self-employed, and they are constantly monitored through algorithmic management. This study explores the labor conditions of food delivery riders in Dhaka city from the notion of ‘precarity’ – mainly from three dimensions of platform precarity – neo-liberal capitalism, employment relationship and algorithmic control of labor processes. This study suggests that these dimensions must be understood to explain the labor conditions of food delivery riders.