Need for Social and Security Measures for Platform and Gig Workers: An Unresolved Puzzle

In the digital bazaar of the modern economy, where algorithms are your bosses and customer reviews dictate your pay, gig workers are the unsung heroes keeping our apps alive and kicking. From delivering your midnight cravings to getting you a ride in seconds, they operate in a world where flexibility is the name of the game—but security is often missing from the rulebook.

Welcome to the gig economy—a buzzing hive of opportunities and challenges, where every swipe, click, and tap hides the struggles of workers hustling without the safety net of traditional jobs. While the industry promises freedom and flexibility, the lack of social and security measures has left gig workers juggling risks that most nine-to-fivers wouldn’t dare face.

The term Gig Economy, which is prevalent in today’s generation, originated in the West. The gig economy is based on independent contracts and project-based work instead of traditional employer-employee relationships. The level of flexibility and the elementary skills required for this work have made the gig economy a booming industry.

In the Indian context, the gig economy primarily refers to people working in food delivery services, app-based taxi services, and other home delivery services. The gig economy is growing globally and is emerging as a driving factor of economic growth, with an expected gross volume of $455 billion by 2024. However, the rapid development and growth of the gig economy are overshadowed by numerous challenges faced by gig workers.

Volatility of Gig Workers

Unlike employees under the current labor law framework, gig workers are not entitled to medical insurance, pensions, gratuities, paid leave, Employee State Insurance, or the Employment Pension Scheme. They lack protection against dismissal and do not have regulated working hours. Additionally, gig workers are subjected to stringent policies and unrealistic targets, such as 10-minute delivery deadlines, which place them at constant risk of accidents. They are also unprotected from workplace harassment and unfair treatment.

The Legal Standpoint

In India, most labor laws originated during the British era. Over time, these laws have become ineffective and obsolete. To address this, the Government of India codified 29 labor laws into four labor codes in 2019 and 2020:

1. Code on Wages, 2019: Ensures the right to a minimum wage for workers in the organized and unorganized sectors.
2. Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Safeguards the interests of industrial workers.
3. Social Security Code, 2020: Provides a comprehensive legal framework for the social security of workers.
4. Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Aims to ensure better and safer working conditions, along with occupational health benefits for workers.

The Social Security Code, 2020 defines the terms gig worker Section 2[35] and platform work (Clause 60). Gig workers are those who perform work outside traditional employer-employee relationships. Platform work involves using an online platform to solve specific problems or provide services. Social security(78) is defined as measures to ensure workers' access to healthcare and income security in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, work injury, maternity, or loss of a breadwinner.

Under Section 141, the Central Government is mandated to establish a Social Security Fund for the welfare of gig and platform workers. The fund is to be financed by contributions from the Central and State Governments, corporate social responsibility funds, or specified employer contributions.

The government may also frame schemes to provide life and disability insurance, health and maternity benefits, old-age protection, crèches, and other benefits.

The Unmet Reality

One major challenge faced by gig workers is the absence of human resource management. Unlike traditional employees, gig workers perform tasks allocated by algorithms on app-based platforms. The evaluation of their work is primarily based on customer ratings and reviews, often provided irregularly, leaving workers unable to track their performance effectively. This lack of feedback can negatively impact their motivation and earnings.

Gig workers are also held accountable based on customer complaints, which are sometimes influenced by unrealistic expectations or delays outside the workers’ control. Moreover, there is little recourse for workers to dispute such complaints.

Gig work also requires sharing personal information, location data, and interactions with customers and platforms, exposing workers to privacy risks. Continuous GPS tracking can lead to over-surveillance and unwanted client harassment.

The definitions of gig workers and platform workers under the Social Security Code remain ambiguous, with no clear indication of whether food delivery services or app-based companies are considered employers. The contribution to the Social Security Fund, capped at 5% of the amount paid to workers, limits its scope and effectiveness.

While states like Rajasthan and Karnataka have introduced legislation to address these issues, these laws lack provisions for transparency in work allocation and data collection practices.

The Way Forward

Transparency in Data Usage: Gig platforms must clearly explain what data is collected, and how it is used, and provide workers with options to opt out of non-essential data collection.

Comprehensive Legislation: There must be robust laws to safeguard the rights of gig and platform workers, addressing existing loopholes and ambiguities in the current Social Security Code, 2020.

Data Protection Clauses: Enforce data protection measures to limit the intrusion of algorithmic controls over unnecessary information unrelated to work. #gigworkers #gigeconomy #needforsocialandsecuritymeasures #socialand security code,2020