ROADIES: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF DIGITALISATION OF INEQUALITIES AND PRECARISATION IN FOOD COURIERS

Food couriers working the evening and nighttime shifts are a special case of platform‑mediated work, and an under‑researched category of contracted workers in the digitalised platform economy. Drawing on a night ethnography, the paper focuses on the strategic role that migrant and non‑migrant gig workers play in supporting communities in four cities: Bucharest and Oradea in Romania, and Cork in Ireland. London, the fourth locality, is the “glocturnal” city in Europe, with a long history of immigration and an exceptional status due to its high demand for migrant workers 24/7. This ethnographic account aims to impact the emerging field in the digitalisation of labour migration and contribute to debates on digitalisation of inequalities and precarisation of nightworkers.