Unrest Against Bogus Self-Employment? Identity Struggles and Resistance Among Platform Riders in Taiwan

Bibliographic Data

ID12282957
AuthorsYu-Fan Chiu (0000-0002-5288-662X, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-02-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Legal Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0964-6639 • E-ISSN: 1461-7390
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09646639261422221
OpenAlexW7130347681
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited54

Where unions are weak and governance authoritarian, gig workers rely on everyday resistance rather than organizing. Taiwan is distinctive: both employees and the self-employed can unionize, and riders have formed unions, yet working conditions remain insufficient. Taiwan’s employment relations provide few worker-participation mechanisms, leaving terms of employment largely determined by employer-imposed rules without worker input. Platforms use consent, freedom and fear to make standard employment appear undesirable, limiting solidarity-based demands for re-employment. The employee–self-employed binary thus forces riders to choose between autonomy and protection. Drawing on Taiwan’s experience, labour-law reform should respond to riders’ demands by establishing countervailing mechanisms and participatory rights – information, consultation and codetermination – empowering them to challenge algorithmic control, curb subordination and secure genuine autonomy

Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Citizen journalism · Corporate governance · Government (linguistics · Identity (music · Resistance (ecology · Subordination (linguistics · Unrest · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Emotional Labor in Professions · Labor Movements and Unions

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