The Role of Digital Work Platforms in Negotiating New Power Dynamics: Experiences from a Social Digital Skills Platform in South Africa

Abstract

Digital work platforms can serve as trust-mediating agents between workers and employers who are previously unknown to each other. The design decisions made by digital work platform developers have an impact on the power dynamics between workers and employers. We report on our experience with piloting a social digital platform, VASTBlu, designed to enable workers from township communities in South Africa to access work opportunities in the mainstream economy. We also discuss ways in which factors like symmetry of review or the frequency of review between parties could be consciously chosen to change the power dynamics between parties in a digital work platform, reducing unfair practices and bringing increased power and dignity to workers.