Reference Article: Editorial | The Hindu – High and dry: On gig workers, social security
UPSC Relevance:
GS Paper II – Polity and Governance (Labour Reforms, Social Justice, Welfare State)
GS Paper III – Economy (Labour Markets, Gig Economy, Informalisation of Work)
Essay – Future of Work, Platform Capitalism, Social Security and Dignity of Labour
The nationwide strike by nearly one lakh gig workers on December 31 highlights the urgency of labour protections for platform workers. This occurred just after the Labour Ministry released draft Rules to operationalise the four labour codes, exposing a disconnect between policy intent and workers’ lived realities. The public praise by a platform CEO for police intervention to maintain services further underlined the power asymmetry between aggregators and workers.
What the Draft Rules Offer
Under the new framework, gig and platform workers are formally recognised only for the purpose of social security, not wages or working conditions. Key features include:
- Gig workers are excluded from an “employment relationship” under the Code on Wages
- Aggregators are required only to make a gross contribution to a Social Security Fund
- No obligations on minimum wages, algorithmic transparency, or fair working conditions
- Workers must register on a portal and meet eligibility thresholds:
- At least 90 days with one aggregator, or
- 120 cumulative days across aggregators in a financial year
Structural Gaps in the Framework
While social security inclusion is a step forward, the Rules leave core vulnerabilities untouched:
- Algorithmic rate cuts, opaque incentives and unilateral changes in work terms remain unregulated
- OSH&WC Rules rely on traditional employer compliance models unsuitable for app-mediated work
- Platforms face no constraints on how work is organised, even though workers are penalised for demand slumps
- Care-giving responsibilities, illness or maternity can disrupt eligibility, risking exclusion from benefits
Problems with Eligibility Design
Although one calendar day can count multiple times if a worker works across platforms, this flexibility benefits platforms more than workers. The thresholds:
- Do not account for involuntary breaks in work
- Can exclude workers during periods of low demand or personal emergencies
- Risk lapsing benefits because of short-term fluctuations beyond workers’ control
What Needs Reform
For the social security promise to be meaningful, the Rules must be redesigned to ensure accessibility and certainty:
- Eligibility thresholds should include safeguards for illness, maternity and demand collapses
- Benefits under the Social Security Fund must be clearly defined with minimum guarantees
- A time-bound, independent claims and appeals process should be mandated
- Dispute resolution should not depend on platform goodwill
- Aggregators must provide workers with periodic, verifiable statements of:
- Jobs performed
- Hours logged
- Earnings and deductions
- Workers should have the right to contest inaccurate or manipulated data
Conclusion
By limiting protection to social security alone and excluding wages and working conditions, the draft Rules fail to address the structural precarity of gig work. Without stronger safeguards, transparency obligations and enforceable rights, the new regime risks institutionalising insecurity rather than alleviating it — leaving the conditions that triggered mass strikes fundamentally unchanged.
Sample UPSC Mains Question
Critically examine the draft rules for gig and platform workers under India’s labour codes. Do they adequately address the challenges of algorithmic management, wage insecurity and social protection in the gig economy?