Editors’ Notes:

In merely a decade, the rise of platforms in Asia has profoundly transformed the lives of millions of workers. Its impact goes beyond the sector and poses unique challenges to countries’ industrial relations systems and trade union movements.

In this collection of writings on platform labour in Asia, we bring together stories and analyses of platform workers across the continent. These writings sketch platform workers’ varied experiences and forms of adaptation, negotiation and resistance.

In addition to covering East Asia and India, we include a Special Series on Grab in Southeast Asia, co-edited by Joe Buckley. Although we do not intend to cover every single country in Asia, we aim to include a wide enough range of countries for transnational development that should be understood from a comparative perspective.

The view from Asia on how workers, unions and alternative forms of organisation have fared in protecting labour from predatory practices and negotiating better legal and regulatory frameworks is crucial for a global dialogue.

Read the Full Issue: Against the Platform – Asian Labour Review