Unpacking the role of workers' heterogeneity in the representation and regulation of platform work. A focus of the case of the Just Eat Takeaway agreement in Italy

This article examines the issue of heterogeneity in relation to workers’ representationwithin digital platforms. Specifically, the research analyses the regulatory process that took placewithin the food-delivery sector in Italy, investigating how the heterogeneity of couriers is reflectedin the Just Eat Takeaway agreement signed in 2021. The novel contribution of this paper is torelate two perspectives – those of workers and unions – that have rarely been considered togetherin the literature on digital labour platforms. Based on extensive qualitative research in Milan, theheterogeneity of riders is synthesized into a threefold typology identified by three metaphors: theexplorer, the entrepreneur and the labourer. It is argued that the introduction of a standardemployment contract has led to an increase in workers’ rights and social protection. However, thecurrent form of the agreement favours less vulnerable riders – the explorer – at the expense ofthose who are more numerous and dependent on platform income – the entrepreneur and thelabourer. We conclude that this agreement can be interpreted mainly as a means for trade unionsto legitimise their institutional role in the socio-economic arena and strengthen their powerresources for future negotiations.