Virtual Seminar by Dr Crispen Chinguno: Customer is King’: Gig Work in a Small South African City and the Varieties of Digital Control and Workers’ Responses

Abstract:

The digital revolution has permeated our daily lives, posing critical questions regarding its influence on work organization and worker experiences. Dr. Chinguno's seminar will delve into these pertinent issues by examining the intersection of digital technology and the gig economy, particularly in the context of Kimberley, South Africa. Through the lens of workers’ subjective perspectives, the seminar will explore how digital interventions shape the organization of gig food delivery work and influence workers’ experiences and responses. Grounded in labor process theory, the seminar will elucidate the diverse business models employed by digital platforms and their implications for the labor process, employment relations, and workers' agency. For instance, the seminar will discuss the nuanced dynamics of customer rating systems and tipping cultures, which simultaneously empower workers to extract surplus value while serving as mechanisms of control and performance management. Moreover, the seminar will highlight that the organization of gig delivery work extends beyond capital accumulation; it is deeply intertwined with the (re)configuration of societal norms, values, and culture, ultimately shaping new traditions of work and worker subjectivities. However, Dr. Chinguno contends that workers possess agency and the capacity to subvert these dominant paradigms, forging means to exert control over the organization of their work.

Join us for this illuminating seminar, where Dr. Crispen Chinguno will unravel the complexities of gig work in the digital age and explore the transformative potential of workers' agency amidst evolving labor landscapes.

Bionote:

Dr. Crispen Chinguno is a distinguished scholar with a background in Sociology, having graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2015. Currently serving as a Senior Lecturer at Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, his expertise lies in analyzing the organization of work and its transformations over time, along with the inherent contestations within. Dr. Chinguno's scholarly achievements include being recognized as an NRF-rated researcher and a DHET Future Professor Fellow. He is an alumnus of the Global Labour University (GLU) and the International Centre for Decent Work and Development (ICDD) at the University of Kassel, Germany. His research contributions have been widely published in esteemed journals and books, including the Review of the African Political Economy, the British Journal of Industrial Relations, the Global Labour Journal, and the New South African Review. Dr. Chinguno's latest research project delves into the digital society's impact on the organization of work.