“It is not precarious, but I think it is slavery”: An analysis of the Work from Uber Drivers through the Focus of Precarization

Abstract

Uber is a startup that offers the service of passenger’s transport, since 2014 in some cities of Brazil. In Brazil, as it did in other parts of the world, it reached a rapid projection, with many registered users and drivers. Unemployment, the discourse of flexibility, and the promise of high and easy gains can be factors that explain such a commitment of drivers. However, some forms of flexibility are considered forms of precariousness of work. During the research, it was identified studies about the company, but these did not empirically analyzed the driver’s work. Thus, the main objective of this article is to analyze the work of Uber drivers under the precariousness approach, in order to verify if it has characteristics of precarious work. The research has a qualitative nature, carried out through semi-structured interviews in depth with Uber drivers in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The reports were treated through content analysis. The results point to several characteristics of precarious work and the drivers, somehow, recognize it as such, because of the low income, exploitation and excessive work hours.

Keywords

• Uber
• flexibilização do trabalho
• precarização do trabalho
• trabalho precário