El trabajo mediado por plataformas. El caso de AzuTaxi en Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

The degree work presents the importance of the digital platform AzuTaxi in the context of work, recognizing the transformations, new forms of control, changes in labor identity and its implications. A qualitative analysis was conducted with semi-structured interviews with ten taxi drivers in Cuenca verifying changes in work practices and reorganization of work in hours, time and space, verifying that the platform has transformed the work and has confronted the taxi drivers to a digital environment highlighting an increase in income up to seventy percent with the highest figure, but also with new challenges in the forms of control such as user ratings, monitoring algorithms and location, becoming a “ciborg worker”, i.e. adapting to technology efficiently and new technological changes that are emerging. AzuTaxi has transformed traditional labor dynamics by offering opportunities for economic improvement and efficiency, but also generating new uncertainties in terms of autonomy, pressure and competitiveness. These findings demonstrate the need to consider the impacts of platform- mediated work in the local labor context.