As gig workers strike on Dec 31, how countries have acted on their rights — and where India stands

Europe: Expanding labour law to cover platforms

In Europe, the debate has largely focused on whether gig workers should be treated as employees rather than independent contractors.

Spain was among the earliest movers. Its 2021 “Riders’ Law” created a legal presumption that food delivery riders are employees, entitling them to minimum wages, social security and collective bargaining rights. The law followed years of rider strikes and a series of court rulings recognising that platforms exercised significant control over workers.

France has taken a more incremental approach. Courts have repeatedly reclassified individual riders and drivers as employees based on the degree of platform control while the French Parliament has extended accident insurance, collective representation and sector-specific social protection to gig workers without granting blanket employee status. These measures were preceded by frequent strikes by delivery workers in Paris and Marseille, among other cities.

Italy, too, has seen benefits extended by courts and regulators. Judicial rulings recognised delivery riders as “organised workers”, a category that brings minimum pay, insurance and health-and-safety protections. Following nationwide rider strikes between 2018 and 2020, the government introduced regulations requiring platforms to provide accident insurance and minimum remuneration.

In the Netherlands, courts have increasingly treated platform workers as employees under existing labour law while trade unions have pushed for collective bargaining rights for freelancers and platform workers. Dutch rulings on ride-hailing and delivery platforms have influenced broader European thinking on employment classification.

At the European Union level, these developments culminated in the Platform Work Directive that came into force in December 2024. It establishes a presumption of employment and mandates transparency in algorithmic management — the automated systems used by platforms to assign work, calculate pay and impose penalties.

United Kingdom, North America and Brazil: Contestation

In the United Kingdom, protections came from the judiciary. In 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers were “workers” under British law — a middle category between employee and contractor. This entitled them to minimum wage, paid leave and rest breaks — though not full employee benefits. The judgment followed a long legal campaign backed by trade unions.

Across the Atlantic, in the US, gig workers remain largely classified as independent contractors at the federal level. California briefly moved in a different direction after a California Supreme Court ruling in 2019 led to a law presuming workers to be employees. Platforms responded by funding a ballot initiative, Proposition 22, which exempted app-based drivers from that law while offering limited benefits such as minimum earnings guarantees and health stipends. The proposal passed with a 58.6% vote — showing that gig worker mobilisation can be met by organised corporate resistance.

Further north in Canada, the province of Ontario introduced minimum pay guarantees for delivery workers, transparency requirements for pay calculations and protections against unjust deactivation. These measures followed organising efforts by delivery workers and union advocacy. But Canada has stopped short of broad employment reclassification.

In Brazil, large-scale delivery worker strikes — known as Breque dos Apps — in 2020 forced the issue into the political mainstream. In 2024, the Brazil government proposed legislation requiring platforms to contribute to social security and provide accident insurance and minimum pay guarantees but a bill is yet to be passed.

Australia and Asia: New legal categories

Australia recently introduced one of the most significant legislative interventions for gig workers. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment Act, passed in 2024, created protections for “employee-like” gig workers. These include minimum standards for pay, insurance, unfair deactivation remedies and access to collective bargaining. The reforms followed sustained union campaigning and court rulings that exposed gaps in existing labour law in the country.

Some Asian countries have similarly chosen to extend social security without redefining employment relationships.

Singapore’s Platform Workers Act, effective since the beginning of 2025, mandates shared contributions by platforms and workers to social security funds while also providing accident compensation and medical insurance. Workers remain outside the employer–employee relationship but platforms now carry responsibility for safety and income protection.

Malaysia has gone further with its Gig Workers Bill, passed in September 2025. The law mandates contracts clearly stating the terms of service between the platform and the worker – including working arrangements, minimum pay and termination conditions, guarantees freedom to work across platforms, makes the platform responsible for workplace safety, establishes systems for pay protection and accident compensation and creates a dedicated tribunal for gig workers. The legislation followed years of organising by platform workers and is among the most comprehensive in Asia.

China has relied mainly on executive directives. After public outrage over delivery-worker deaths, authorities required platforms to ensure minimum pay standards, rest periods and accident insurance in guidelines announced in 2021 and enhanced in 2024.

India: Recognition but slow implementation

India formally recognised gig and platform workers for the first time under the Code on Social Security, 2020, which empowers the union government to frame welfare schemes covering life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits and old age protection. However, the law does not mandate these benefits and depends on rules yet to be fully notified. The union government has indicated that implementation may begin from April 1, 2026 after draft rules are finalised by the Centre and states.

In the meantime, states have begun experimenting. Rajasthan enacted the Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023, creating a welfare board and requiring aggregators to contribute to a social security and welfare fund. Karnataka has proposed a similar Bill, which remains in draft form.

Despite these steps, Indian law still does not guarantee an income floor, does not account for waiting time and provides no clear protection against arbitrary deactivation – all issues highlighted during the December 31 strike.