‘We Are Not All the Same’: The Capacity of Different Groups of Food Delivery Gig Workers to Build Collective and Individual Power Resources

Abstract

This article explores how various groups of food delivery gig workers create and maintain distinct strategies to build collective and individual power resources, including institutional, associational, structural and mobility power. Drawing on 35 interviews with food delivery couriers, social media data and observations in a British city, this article provides rich empirical evidence on the power resources of groups of gig workers based on their nationality, dependence on gig work and right to work in the UK. It intersects workers’ labour market position and migrant (documented and undocumented) and national border regimes to understand varying levels of agency and power. In doing so, this article comparatively shows that differentiating inclusion and exclusion dynamics are intrinsically related to the capacity of workers to develop collective and individual power-building strategies that can improve their working lives.