Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin during his Independence Day speech announced that the government would constitute a separate welfare board for gig workers. “Starting from Chennai, in all other cities, one scene which we witness frequently is workers of Ola, Uber, Swiggy and Zomato travelling with an aim to provide their services quickly. The lives of these employees who work against the clock are important. In order to safeguard their overall welfare, a separate board will be set up,” Stalin said during his speech at Fort St George in Chennai on Tuesday after unfurling the tricolour. The workers and their unions, who are often on strike to demand better pay and working conditions, have welcomed the decision as it will guarantee social security. The workers often complain that even after an increase in fuel prices, they are not offered higher commissions. They also noted how the companies deny them orders if they fail to meet the daily targets and how other benefits, including the weekly and monthly incentives have been slashed by the companies. Although the state government is yet to provide details of the welfare board, sources in the government said it will look into the things that have been included in the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023 Bill tabled in July. The Bill extends certain rights to gig workers like having access to specific social security schemes, an opportunity to be heard for grievances, etc. Speaking to indianexpress.com, K C Gopikumar, president of the Tamil Nadu Food Delivery Workers Association, which is affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s trade union wing and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Chennai, welcomed the move but noted that there are certain things which the government needs to consider before coming up with the final draft. “Right from 2016 we have been fighting to ensure that these gig workers also enjoy statutory benefits like other factory workers. The food delivery persons independently used to organise spontaneous agitations and strikes demanding wage hikes. When representatives of the companies offered them temporary solutions, they would withdraw their protest. However, in a few months, they would have to protest again,” said Gopikumar. He added, “We held discussions with our senior members and came up with this organisation which was registered in 2022. We have been taking all efforts to ensure they (gig workers) are brought under the ambit of the Trade Union Act. Here, there is an employee-employer relationship and hence these people must be recognised as ‘workers’ as per Indian Labour Law and provided all the benefits of the law.” Gopikumar added that before the government came up with such an announcement to set up a welfare board, they held discussions and were earlier informed that these gig workers do not fall under the Labour Act and after they raised objections and placed their demands, the government agreed to form such a board. “These people (gig workers) are also providing services. When a person who works in a hotel can be considered as a ‘worker’ under our labour laws, why can't the same be applied to gig workers? In our earlier discussions with the government, we have demanded that a tri-party discussion involving the labour department and the company representatives should take place before the final draft of the measures is framed. This is because we need our demands, including the compensation, working hours and other grievances of the workers, to be a part of the draft,” he added. Here's what gig workers have to say Speaking to indianexpress.com, the workers of popular food aggregators shared some of the issues they had been facing and hoped the board would resolve them. Ranjith Kumar, who works in the Kannagi Nagar area, said, “Through the welfare board, if the government can set up a standard commission per km, say Rs 15, it will be beneficial for the workers.” “We are made to work for around nine and half hours each day to earn some decent earnings. Since we ride for extended hours, we experience a lot of health issues like eye allergies, skin burns and back pain. The board should take steps to ensure that we work only eight hours a day. Also, the company keeps altering the slots and rules. Even if we raise a complaint, there isn’t much response from them,” he added. Kumar further claimed that on certain occasions, they pick orders from far off distances and deliver them to far off places but are paid only a meagre amount. “Let’s say we are assigned a restaurant which is 3 km away from my location and from there, the customer’s house is another 3 km. But for this entire distance, we are paid only Rs 20. This is unacceptable given the rising fuel costs,” he said. “If we raise any issue, we are threatened that our IDs will be blocked. If we take a break for two days without logging in, say in case of family events, our IDs are blocked. We are not able to contact our field managers in case of emergencies as the application doesn’t have such details. We are subjected to so much harassment,” he added. Chakkaravarthi, who too works in the Kannagi Nagar area, said due to the ongoing Metro rail works, there has been huge traffic congestion in major parts of the city, however, without understanding that, the company slashes our commission for not delivering on time. He added, “We face difficulties from the customers as well. We often have to climb four floors to deliver the orders as some customers do not have elevators in their apartments or in some cases, delivery personnel are not allowed to use the elevators.” Pushpa, who works in the Thorapakkam area, said he is unaware of any such announcement by the government which helps the gig workers but said he wants his employer to set up a facility of provident fund for the workers. “This will help me save some money from the incentives that I get,” he said.
