SOCIAL ACCELERATION, UBERIZATION, AND PANDEMIC: WHO NEEDS LABOR LAW?

Abstract

The world of work has undergone several transformations caused by the Industry 4.0, in a social acceleration’s movement. In addition to the workstations’ automation, the uberization of labor relations must be emphasized, that is, the provision of services through digital platforms, with contractual arrangements that evade labor legislation. Thus, hegemonic discourse said that the Labor Law would be outdated and unable to deal with these new productive relationships, therefore the need to be updated to promote greater flexibility in relations. This article intends to highlight contradictions and objectives behind this discourse, which ends up denying labor’s centrality, especially in a historical moment that technology usage guides labor relationships to greater fragility.  It is regained, from reflections on the work transformations and on the persistence of the exploitation and subordination phenomena, the continuity of asymmetries that are presented as reasons for the existence of Labor Law. These reflections are emphasized by the evidence of vulnerability and demand for labor exploitation relationships’ mediation in the context of the socio-economic crisis intensified by the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic.