Legitimacy, voice and power in ride hailing labour movements in Kenya

Abstract

One way to improve gig work may be to strengthen worker voice via worker organisations. But organising gig workers under economic strain is difficult. In this article, I apply the power resources approach to two related but divergent cases of digital driver mobilisation—Mombasa and Nairobi—to demonstrate the relationship between the cultivation of internal and external legitimacy and the implications each has for different types of power. In Mombasa, association leaders mobilised a majority of local drivers and built internal legitimacy through geographic zone groups, direct communications and democratic norms. This legitimacy enabled them to use structural power, taking direct action against app companies. Unable to build internal legitimacy, Nairobi association leaders instead cultivated external legitimacy through media and politician appeals, using political power to press for regulation. However, workers contested representation by these leaders, raising questions about whether relying solely on external legitimacy increases effective worker voice.