165150 20251212165958.0 doi 10.1108/IJSSP-01-2025-0048 sideral 146646 ART-2025-146646 eng Cobarrubias, Sebastian (orcid)0000-0003-0337-8271 Strapped to the app? Bridled labor at the crossroads of platform delivery and migration regulation 2025 Purpose The paper aims to analyze the configuration of specific forms of undeclared work which are becoming widespread in the digital food-delivery sector in Spain and are predominantly occupied by migrant labor with employment and/or residence restrictions. Design/methodology/approach Our analysis includes a desk research review of relevant regulatory frameworks, specifically, national labor and migratory legislations, semi-structured interviews with labor inspectorates and trade unions, as well as ethnographic interviews with migrant riders in three Spanish cities. Findings Our research unveils how current platform delivery configurations attract and confine migrant labor. The current migration regime, with its multiple migration statuses, productively articulates with account-based forms of enrollment facilitated by digital platform infrastructures. The contingent entanglement between a regime of flexible platform labor and a restrictive regime of migration management encourages irregular forms of work and the external disciplining of couriers. This entanglement provokes an increasingly international workforce to be “strapped” to undeclared delivery. Social implications Our research shows how the solution based on the re-classification of worker’ status toward a standard employment relationship is limited in its scope when the platform economy becomes dependent on migrant labor with shifting administrative restrictions. Policymakers and trade unions should consider improvements in the resolutions procedures of residence and work applications. As a medium-term implication, our research calls for a profound reconsideration of current migration management policies in light of their intersection with flexibilizing labor markets in the platform economy. Originality/value This is the first paper that draws on Yann Moulier-Boutang's theoretical insights to analyze and further interpret undeclared work in the food-delivery platform sector, specifically in Spain. Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN-AEI/PID2020-115170RB-100 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Casas-Cortés, Maribel Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-9390-4022 Sanz de Miguel, Pablo Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-6061-8556 Montañés Grado, Miguel Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2061-2314 4009 775 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Psicología y Sociología Área Sociología 4009 813 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Psicología y Sociología Área Trabajo Social y Serv.Soc 4009 030 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Psicología y Sociología Área Antropología Social (2025), 1-17 International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 0144-333X 2242191 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165150/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2060173 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165150/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:165150 articulos driver 2025-12-12-14:43:51 ARTICLE