Algorithmic control and resistance in the gig economy: A case of Uber drivers in Dhaka

This article explores how Uber drivers in Dhaka exercise agency to earn and sustain their livelihoods. Uber drivers not only experience extortion by Uber, but also face various challenges, such as precarious working conditions and algorithmic control of their activities. In most Global South countries, the regulatory practices are not in favour of Uber drivers either. Within this context, drawing on in-depth interviews with 27 Uber drivers and one focus group discussion with members of the Dhaka Ride-Sharing Drivers’ Union, this article makes an original contribution to the discussion of the algorithmic governance of labour and how gig workers in the Global South subvert algorithms utilising everyday tactics to earn their livelihoods. While existing literature mostly demonstrates that Uber drivers use bot apps or switch off their app to protest Uber’s algorithmic control, this article shows that Uber drivers in Bangladesh utilise a different strategy known as khep (contractual ride) to subvert the algorithmic governance of labour and increase their income. Through the presentation of Uber drivers’ overt and covert resistance strategies in Dhaka, this article also advances the theories of the labour movement and industrial relations and the gig economy literature by demonstrating that overt and covert resistance strategies can complement each other if workers are unable to legally form unions to bargain with platforms and claim their rights for fair pay and fair working conditions.