BIKE couriers and drivers in Argentina have created the first trade union in the Americas for workers in the platform economy.

The Association of Platform Personnel (APP) was registered at the Ministry of Labour in Buenos Aires on October 9 and most of its members work for delivery firms Rappi and Glovo and also for Uber.

Describing conditions that will be familiar to “gig economy” workers in other parts of the world, a spokesperson for the new union said that the companies were taking advantage of them and that, instead of being their own bosses, they were treated like slaves.

There is no job security or fixed salary and, if workers complain about conditions imposed by the companies, they are barred from receiving any more work on their mobile phones.

In order to earn a living wage they have to work excessive hours and, in the case of the Spanish courier service company Glovo, are responsible for buying all their own equipment, including the food boxes that carry the company’s name.

A press statement to commemorate the launch of the APP said: “If this is the future of the economy, we have to build the trade unions of the future.” 

Appropriately, the statement was put out on Twitter, which promptly blocked their account.