Why in the News?

The ‘Fairwork India Ratings 2024’ highlights that platform aggregators in India fail to ensure local living wages and resist recognizing the collective rights of workers.

Key highlights as per the report: 

• No Platform Scored Perfectly: No digital labor platform scored more than 6 out of 10 points, and none met all criteria across the five principles — Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management, and Fair Representation.
• Fair Pay: Only BigBasket and Urban Company ensured a minimum wage, but no platform met the criteria for guaranteeing a living wage after work-related costs.
• Fair Conditions: Several platforms (e.g., Amazon Flex, Swiggy, Zepto) provided safety equipment and training, but only a few offered comprehensive accident insurance and income loss compensation.
• Fair Contracts: BigBasket, Swiggy, and others made contracts accessible and comprehensible, and provided data protection for workers.
• Fair Management: Platforms like BluSmart and Zomato implemented processes for addressing grievances and preventing discrimination.

Present Status of Gig Economy  in India:

• Growth of the Gig Economy: India is witnessing rapid growth in the gig economy, with millions of workers depending on digital platforms for their livelihoods.
  • The rise of app-based platforms such as Uber, Zomato, and Urban Company has driven the expansion of gig work across urban areas.
• Government Focus: Recent years have seen increasing political and legislative attention to gig worker welfare. Karnataka and Jharkhand are examples of states that have proposed new legislation to regulate platform work and protect gig workers’ rights.
• Worker Conditions: Despite the expansion of gig work, platforms in India still lag in ensuring fair pay, safety, and management of gig workers.
  • The Fairwork India Ratings 2024 reveal that no platform scored above 6 out of 10, signaling considerable gaps in adhering to key labor standards.

Challenges faced by the Gig Economy

• Low Wages and Unstable Earnings: Many platforms fail to ensure a local living wage for workers after accounting for work-related costs. Only a few platforms like Bigbasket and Urban Company guarantee the local minimum wage, but none meet the standard of ensuring a living wage.
• Lack of Social Security and Benefits: Most gig workers lack access to benefits such as healthcare, insurance, and paid leave. While a few platforms provide accident insurance, broader social security protections remain elusive.
• Poor Working Conditions: Platforms often do not ensure adequate safety training or measures. While some like Swiggy, Zomato, and Zepto offer basic safety equipment and training, broader protections, especially in terms of income loss and sick leave, are limited.
• Inflexible Contracts: Contracts on platforms are frequently unclear, lengthy, and not always comprehensible for workers, making it difficult for them to fully understand their rights and obligations.
• Management Issues and Bias: Workers face arbitrary decisions and discipline without proper recourse. Though some platforms have mechanisms for workers to appeal decisions, few have adopted policies to ensure fairness in work allocation.
• Collectivization Challenges: Platforms resist recognizing gig workers’ right to form unions or collective bodies. Despite the growing movement for gig worker collectivization, no platform showed evidence of supporting or acknowledging these efforts.

Way forward: 

• Strengthen Legal Protections and Social Security: Introduce comprehensive legislation ensuring gig workers receive fair wages, social security benefits like healthcare and insurance, and clear, comprehensible contracts.
• Promote Worker Representation and Fair Management: Encourage platforms to recognize collective bodies of gig workers, ensuring their right to unionize. Implement transparent and bias-free management practices, along with grievance redressal mechanisms, to improve working conditions and fairness.

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