Migrant Labour in Digital Care Platforms: Transnational Migration Industries and Politics of Care in Turkey

The paper examines the intersection of digital care platforms and transnational migration industries, focusing on Türkiye as a pivotal node in the global care economy. Positioned as both a transit and destination country, Türkiye plays a critical role in regional migration dynamics, particularly for care workers from the Middle East, North Africa (MENA), the Balkans, and Central Asia who frequently aspire to onward migration to Europe. Coupled with the increasing prominence and variety of care platforms in finding care workers, it explores migrant care workers in these platforms as a particular case. It investigates how digital care platforms mediate labour relationships and influence the migration trajectories of care workers in Türkiye, examining their dual role as enablers of informal employment and gatekeepers within migration industries. By employing a mixed methods approach, including digital ethnography, content analysis of care platforms, and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders (platform owners, migrant care workers, and customers), the paper explores the blurred boundaries between formality, informality, and exploitation within the platform economy. The preliminary findings show the variety of services, business models, employment status of care workers and the role of algorithmic management in the three biggest platforms. They show that it is important to account for the migratory patterns of carer profiles and consider service and language skills, the regulatory status of the caregiver, the interaction of formal vs. informal, and context-specific features. It aims to provide empirical data on underexplored dynamics of the migration industries in the Global South and to inform policy recommendations to protect migrant workers’ rights, regulate digital care platforms, and address structural inequalities in the care economy. By analysing Türkiye as a case study, one of the world’s biggest migration hubs, the research sheds light on the transnational configurations of digital care labour and their implications for global migration governance.