Youth and labour in the covid-19 pandemic

The experience of bike-delivery drivers

Abstract

In a context of economic crisis and rise of uberization in Brazilian capitalism, young people have found a possibility of professional insertion on digital platforms. Starting from the importance that the dimension of work takes in the Brazilian youth experience and the way in which this experience is crossed by the intersection of social class, gender, color/race and age inequalities, we present part of the results of a research carried out with cyclist couriers working on apps in the city of São Paulo in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. Through a qualitative research, eleven interviews were carried out with bikeboys, between the years 2021 and 2022. In addition to the precariousness of the occupation, the experiences of these young workers in the bike-delivery service are marked by the search for platforms after difficulties in finding work in an economically unfavorable scenario, exposure to multiple risks in everyday life and conflicts in reconciling studies and work. Contrary to blaming young people, especially from the urban peripheries, for the spread of the virus, the article shows that the pandemic has intensified the inequalities and challenges experienced by working youth.