The Perils, Predicament of Giggers in the Food Delivery Sector in Dublin

Abstract

This dissertation elucidates the various precarious work conditions inherent in platform-based work, particularly in last mile food delivery sector in the city of Dublin. It includes quantitative analysis of 95 food delivery riders’ responses towards the substandard, precarious working conditions, earning patterns, the existence and proportion of riders in the grey market where an individual leases a rider account for a weekly fee enabled by the platform providers by means of substitution, which causes decreased earnings of such gigger/delivery rider resulting or contributing as a factor for emotional distress, the impact of eased COVID-19 restrictions on their earning potential, work satisfaction and emotional wellbeing, what are their expectation in addressing the issue pertaining to their employment status. Working conditions in platform-based jobs through the eyes of delivery riders and the need to provide better working conditions, employment rights to provide a social safety net for their psychological wellbeing is depicted. It is also found that earnings of a delivery drivers/riders per hours of effort put in generating revenue for the platform providers are well below the national minimum wages as opposed to the claims made by the platform providers to be on par with the national minimum wage and (earnings claimed to be above during peaks hours) causing psychological distress to the delivery riders in addition to the physical exhaustion involved in the kind of work carried out. Bivariate analysis carried out to identify the relationship between the emotional precariousness /distress faced by the food delivery riders owing to the working conditions, earnings, and employment benefits is found statistically significant i.e., the food delivery riders in Dublin are exposed to emotional distress. However, given the financial and time constraints the study is limited to the city of Dublin. Therefore, the generalisation of the results is limited.