Pu,
Drop,
Repeat
The platform economy has experienced an enormous growth spurt in many parts of the world, especially fueled during the Corona pandemic. As it is still a relatively young industry, workers are often poorly paid and otherwise exploited, especially when working for larger corporations. The first trade unions have been forming since the late 2010s and are fighting for the protection of workers' rights.
The body of work Pu Drop Repeat follows two sides of this fast developing form of labour. On the one side there are the food couriers working for companies such as Lieferando and Wolt who are struggling to unionize as the companies themselves have no interest in facilitating any infrastructure that would help to enforce workers' rights. One rider I talked to described his work as solitary, as he starts every shift from home and barely has any contact to other riders.
The other side of the story are the self organized riders from the Khora collective (which since has stopped excisting), who often have a great passion for bicycle culture and who regularly meet after work or during their break. For them working as bicycle food couriers is part of an identity, forming a community that opposes the capitalistic concept of larger companies.
The body of work Pu Drop Repeat follows two sides of this fast developing form of labour. On the one side there are the food couriers working for companies such as Lieferando and Wolt who are struggling to unionize as the companies themselves have no interest in facilitating any infrastructure that would help to enforce workers' rights. One rider I talked to described his work as solitary, as he starts every shift from home and barely has any contact to other riders.
The other side of the story are the self organized riders from the Khora collective (which since has stopped excisting), who often have a great passion for bicycle culture and who regularly meet after work or during their break. For them working as bicycle food couriers is part of an identity, forming a community that opposes the capitalistic concept of larger companies.
© Marvin Systermans — Berlin