4.6 An Argentinian platform workers’ union, the first of its kind in the region, is fighting for the rights of delivery workers and revitalising the union struggle The Asociación de Personal de Plataformas(APP) is organising delivery workers. They are some of society’s most vulnerable workers, made even more vulnerable by Covid-19, while si­multaneously fighting for the normalisation of their employ­ment relationships and for official recognition as a union. By Camille Audibert 1 The change came in a matter of weeks. The streets of Buenos Aires were suddenly awash in red, orange and yellow, the colours of the backpacks worn by delivery platform workers, workers who pedal full speed for maximum efficiency. Already well established in other parts of the world, platform companies first appeared in Argentina in 2018, initially in the capital followed by other regions. Over the last two years, Colombian company Rappi, Spanish company Glovo and Uruguayan company PedidosYa have become part of the urban land­scape as well as the habits of many consumers, who request the services of thousands of delivery workers at any time of day or night. But rather than becoming just one more country in the expansion of these multinationals, the unexpected happened in Argentina: the formation in record time of the region’s first platform workers’ union, the Asociación de Personal de Plataformas(the Platform Personnel Association, APP). Its trajectory is“both relevant and exceptional,” according to a study published by the German foundation Friedrich­1 Camille Audibert is a freelance journalist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Section 4/ 4.6 71