The struggle for solidarity: the welfare regime and delivery platform work in Turkey

Abstract

This paper examines how the welfare regime in Turkey shapes the relationship between delivery platforms, labor organizations, and platform workers. Drawing on in-depth interviews and archival analysis, the paper shows how Turkey's hybrid welfare regime-marked by a legacy of corporatist practices, neoliberal institutions, and conservative policies-has given platforms significant freedom to push workers into precarious independent contracting arrangements. This has limited the ability of traditional trade unions to effectively organize platform workers, while alternative labor organizations have emerged with more flexible approaches but without the resources to scale them up. The welfare regime has also shaped the preferences and expectations of delivery drivers themselves, who are keenly aware of their precarious conditions but do not necessarily see formal employment or engagement with labor organizations as desirable solutions. The paper argues that to fully understand the dynamics of platform work, we must situate it within the broader context of the welfare regime, rather than treating platforms as disruptive forces acting upon a static, pre-existing regime. The paper contributes to debates on the impact of platform work on labor relations and welfare policies, highlighting how these dynamics play out differently in the Global South. It also underscores the importance of recognizing the state as a formative influence over the processes of platformization, recentering the debate on welfare and platform work away from a sole focus on employment, and rethinking how workers and labor organizations engage with platforms in an environment where the latter's resources might be more constrained.