Masculinity and Precarity: Male Migrant Taxi Drivers in South China

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne YP Choi
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Male Migrant ◽  
Service Jobs ◽  
Urban Migrant ◽  
Taxi Industry

This article examines how male rural-to-urban migrant taxi drivers’ experience of a loss of control over their working conditions and increasing financial insecurity are driven by state regulation and market reorganization of the taxi industry, and their status as second class citizens in urban China. Precarity, as explored in this article, speaks to feelings of disempowerment, a profound sense of livelihood insecurity and a crisis of social reproduction that has resulted from workplace reorganization that marginalizes workers. The findings contribute to the study of precarity and masculinity by first unpacking how masculine identities are built around men’s access to masculine service niches and their control over working conditions in these niches. It then shows how precariousness negates these male workers’ sense of self by simultaneously taking away the control that distinguishes their work from factory employment and female-dominated service jobs; and undermining their capacity to meet the provider norm.

scholarly journals Covid-19 and Precarity in South Africa’s Minibus Taxi Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Dr. Siyabulela C. Fobosi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Insurance Fund ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
Difficult Times

This article considers covid-19 and precarity in South Africa’s minibus taxi industry. Covid-19 and the resulting national lockdown interrupted the operations of the industry (like other businesses) in South Africa. During the lockdown (from level 5 to level 1), some taxi operators complained that the lockdown resulted in them losing profit. Taxi drivers also complained that they are making less money through taxi fares (noting that each day they give collected fares to taxi owners and keep some of the money for petrol). The labour inspectors of the Department of Employment and Labour (DOEL) continue to find it difficult to exercise their role of inspecting working conditions in the industry. Despite the fact that the DOEL issued a Sectoral Determination for the taxi industry (Basic Condition of Employment Act 95 of 1997, Sectoral Determination 11: Taxi Sector 2005), which specifies basic employment conditions, the industry is still predominantly informal and employees have no job protection. Taxi drivers remain exempt from job-related benefits such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which makes it impossible for them to benefit during difficult times such as Covid-19 and unemployment. Therefore, the virus and the lockdown revealed further the precariousness of taxi drivers and the concerns around making profit by taxi owners.

scholarly journals Exploring the Influence of E-Hailing Applications on the Taxi Industry—From the Perspective of the Drivers

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Yitong Gan ◽  
Hongchao Fan ◽  
Wei Jiao ◽  
Mengqi Sun
Keyword(s):  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Urban Traffic ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
Transportation Industry ◽  
Trajectory Data ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Driving Behaviors ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
The Times

In China, the traditional taxi industry is conforming to the trend of the times, with taxi drivers working with e-hailing applications. This reform is of great significance, not only for the taxi industry, but also for the transportation industry, cities, and society as a whole. Our goal was to analyze the changes in driving behavior since taxi drivers joined e-hailing platforms. Therefore, this paper mined taxi trajectory data from Shanghai and compared the data of May 2015 with those of May 2017 to represent the before-app stage and the full-use stage, respectively. By extracting two-trip events (i.e., vacant trip and occupied trip) and two-spot events (i.e., pick-up spot and drop-off spot), taxi driving behavior changes were analyzed temporally, spatially, and efficiently. The results reveal that e-hailing applications mine more long-distance rides and new pick-up locations for drivers. Moreover, driver initiative have increased at night since using e-hailing applications. Furthermore, mobile payment facilities save time that would otherwise be taken sorting out change. Although e-hailing apps can help citizens get taxis faster, from the driver’s perspective, the apps do not reduce their cruising time. In general, e-hailing software reduces the unoccupied ratio of taxis and improves the operating ratio. Ultimately, new driving behaviors can increase the driver’s revenue. This work is meaningful for the formulation of reasonable traffic laws and for urban traffic decision-making.

scholarly journals Taxi drivers: ethnic segmentation, precarious work, and informal economic strategies in the Swedish taxi industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoran Slavnic
Keyword(s):  
Life Story ◽  
Taxi Driver ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Precarious Work ◽  
General Consequence ◽  
Economic Strategies ◽  
Taxi Industry

This article invesitgates the processes of ethnic segmentation, precarious labour, and informalization in the Swedish taxi industry during a period of rapid deregulation during the 1990s. It does so by focussing on the life story of a single individual―Adem, a taxi driver in the Swedish city of Malmö. Despite his education, long working experience, and all efforts to make use of these advantages, all doors to an appropriate career in Sweden have remained closed to him. As a result, he has been pushed into working in the taxi sector, which is increasingly characterized by ethnic segmentation, hard working conditins, and harsh competition, forcing people to deploy informal economic strategies in order to survive. Adem’s fate becomes strongly determined by these socio-economical processes. At the same time, the article shows that these processes are not separate, but are closely interrelated and reinforce each other. On the broader level these processes are a general consequence of the neoliberal reconstruction of Western economies, and structural economic, political and social changes related to it.

scholarly journals Risk Factors Associated to Obesity in Cycle-Taxi Drivers of Mexico City’s Historic Downtown

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Luis David Berrones Sanz ◽  
María Guadalupe de Dios Bravo ◽  
Exiquio Cesar González Peña ◽  
Victoria Alejandra Muro Báez
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Sugary Drinks ◽  
Related Risk

From the perspective of social reproduction, the focus of this study is placed on the collective practice of diet in bike taxi drivers (or rickshaws) of Mexico City’s historic downtown, analyzed as key element in a characteristic pathologic profile observed in health/disease conditions, particularly as the cause for overweight, obesity, dyslipidemias, and factors associated to metabolic syndrome. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 110 (90.2%) drivers. A survey was used to collect data on diet habits, working conditions and lifestyle. Anthropometric measurements and blood samples were taken to analyze biochemical parameters in order to assess the subjects’ health status and establish obesity-related risk factors. The results reveal that average daily soda consumption is 1.6 liters (54 fl. oz.), an equivalent of 629 kilocalories per day. Vegetables are consumed 3.1 times per week and 65.7 kilograms (145 pounds) of corn tortillas are consumed per year. Obesity is associated to the number of years a person has been driving a bike taxi [χ2(2, N = 99) = 6.747, p = 0.034]. 69.1% is overweight or obese, 63.3% has hypertriglyceridemia and 49.1% meet three or more criteria to be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome according to the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III). Drivers’ intake of sugary drinks and junk food is high, while recommended food intake like vegetables, fruits, legumes and white meat is low. Ongoing campaigns are recommended to promote healthy food intake, avoid sugary drinks intake and facilitate water consumption.

Environmental Conditions of the Work Organization for the Disabled People

2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 70-70
Author(s):  
Ewa Górska
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The Individual ◽  
A Company

A disabled person in a company is affected by a number of various environmental conditions. Among these the most important are such as organizational, technical, social, economic and, finally, legal working conditions. The standard and quality of the just mentioned conditions determine significantly the way in which a disabled person performs the assigned tasks and duties in the company and it also helps to create the individual sense of self-fulfillment and work satisfaction. What is more, at the same time the level of environmental conditions influences directly work efficiency and profits of the company. It must be clearly stated that working conditions do not appear immediately and spontaneously - they need careful planning and modern organization. This research paper presents the environmental conditions and discusses a model design of the work organization for the disabled people.

The impact of working conditions on the health of taxi drivers in an urban metropolis

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 671-686
Author(s):  
Husayn Marani ◽  
Brenda Roche ◽  
Laura Anderson ◽  
Minnie Rai ◽  
Payal Agarwal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis descriptive qualitative study explores how working conditions impact the health of taxi drivers in Toronto, Canada.Design/methodology/approachDrivers were recruited between September 2016 and March 2017. A total of 14 semi-structured qualitative interviews and one focus group (n = 11) were conducted. Transcripts were analyzed inductively through a socioecological lens.FindingsThe findings of this study are as follows: drivers acknowledged that job precariousness (represented by unstable employment, long hours and low wages) and challenging workplace conditions (sitting all day and limited breaks) contribute to poor physical/mental health. Also, these conditions undermine opportunities to engage in health-protective behaviors (healthy eating, regularly exercising and taking breaks). Drivers do not receive health-enabling reinforcements from religious/cultural networks, colleagues or their taxi brokerage. Drivers do seek support from their primary care providers and family for their physical health but remain discreet about their mental health.Research limitations/implicationsAs this study relied on a convenience sample, the sample did not represent all Toronto taxi drivers. All interviews were completed in English and all drivers were male, thus limiting commentary on other experiences and any gender differences in health management approaches among drivers.Practical implicationsGiven the global ubiquity of taxi driving and an evolving workplace environment characterized by growing competition, findings are generalizable across settings and may resonate with other precarious professions, including long-haul truck operators and Uber/Lyft drivers. Findings also expose areas for targeted intervention outside the workplace setting.Originality/valueHealth management among taxi drivers is understudied. A fulsome, socioecological understanding of how working conditions (both within and outside the workplace) impact their health is essential in developing targeted interventions to improve health outcomes.

Fathering and Faltering: “Sorry, but You Don't Have the Necessary Accoutrements”

10.1068/a3236 ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart C Aitken
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Natural Categories ◽  
The Family ◽  
And Behaviors

The institution of the family is changing in complex and inscrutable ways. Ideally, it continues as a space of intimacy, love, and morality within which young children may find care and nurturing. This mythic conception of the institution belies the complex gendered realities of parenting. This paper focuses on the institution of fatherhood and the work of fathering. Much of our understanding of what it is to be a father hinges on an ‘idea’ that does not embrace the ‘fact’ of fathering as a daily emotional practice that is negotiated, contested and resisted differently in different spaces. Our enduring myths of social reproduction do not seem to support forms of masculinity that encompass a sense of self that is nurturing and domestically orientated. The paper derives from a series of discussions with new fathers and mothers in San Diego, California. I focus explicitly on constructions of fatherhood and the work of fathering with a focus on fathers who called themselves ‘househusbands’ and ‘Mr Moms’. Although many of the heterosexual parents in the San Diego study thought of motherhood and fatherhood as ‘natural’ categories that gave meaning to their emotions and behaviors, further scrutiny suggests that emotions and behaviors are complexly woven, unraveled and sometimes detached from the work of parenting. The paper's main contribution is to demonstrate that even the most active fathers tend to see their role as ‘helping out’ their partners rather than taking the main responsibility for child-care themselves.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document