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Journalism of Courage
— Ritwika Patgiri
The Union government has for the first time allowed the use of bike taxis through aggregators, subject to state government approval. The move is seen as bringing some relief to bike taxi operators, especially in states like Karnataka where a recent ban on bike taxis had reportedly stripped thousands of gig workers of their primary source of income.
A significant number of bike taxi riders come from economically weaker backgrounds such as students, former daily-wage workers, and women who have returned to work post-pandemic. Riders claim that the flexibility and accessibility of the profession have made it a viable source of income in regions where formal employment opportunities are limited.
In this context, a recent study by V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, affiliated with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, is relevant as it has estimated that the number of gig workers in India will grow to around 23 million by 2030 from around 3 million across 11 platform companies in 2020.
This projection is supposed to include 7 per cent of India’s total non-agricultural workers. But what does such growth in the gig sector imply for India’s economy? First, let’s understand what is the gig economy and who are gig workers in India?
The gig economy, as defined by the World Economic Forum (WEF), involves the exchange of labour for money between individuals or companies via digital platforms that actively connect providers with customers on a short-term and payment-by-task basis.
In India, gig workers are defined as “self-employed” workers, and the gig labour force has seen increasing participation of women. Gig work can be defined in two ways:
Web-based gig work – Gig workers perform their tasks virtually or digitally like content writing, software development, digital marketing, data analytics, etc.
Location-based work – Tasks are carried out locally or in person but are facilitated by digital platforms like Ola, Uber, Zomato, and Urban Company.
Thus, gig workers provide a wide range of services like driving, beauty, housework, food delivery, etc. They are paid per assignment or gig, and their work is viewed as flexible with freedom from the traditional 9 to 5 office culture.
But the debate around the gig economy can be seen in two ways. One perspective sees the “platformisation” of work as a step towards formalisation of labour. The integration of digital payments into gig work is seen as indicating a shift towards “formalisation”. The platform economy is also seen as an alternative to earlier forms of scattered work with the promise of “flexibility”.
The gig economy especially plays a crucial role for women as digital platforms have significantly expanded employment opportunities for female workers across the Global South. For instance, studies have found that women tend to earn more in gig work. Further, the flexible nature of gig work is viewed as enabling women to balance their domestic as well as work lives.
The other perspective looks at how gig work can lead to the exploitation of workers in the absence of adequate labour regulations and protections. Platforms that outsource gig work to workers often do not guarantee a minimum wage or a regular income. Gig workers are deprived of social security benefits and do not even get paid sick leave.
Their work is seen as “flexible” but that does not imply non-dependence on gigs or independence from the work or protection from exploitation. For instance, during the 2024 heatwave, gig workers were especially vulnerable as they had to spend long hours outdoors in extreme temperatures without adequate safeguards.
In addition, in the case of India, employment in the gig economy also has caste and class implications. There have also been instances of Zomato workers being denied access to lifts in high-rise apartments, reflecting new forms of discrimination against workers.
Moreover, while gig workers are classified as “self-employed”, it is useful to understand how informality and self-employment are intertwined, especially in the context of India. The classification of gig workers as “independent”, “flexible”, and “self-employed” often serves as a mechanism for cost reduction. For instance, it allows employers to avoid paying for the benefits of their workers such as paid leave and health insurance.
Further, self-employment in India does not necessarily imply “independence” or freedom. Rather scholars like Jan Breman have described the persistent nature of self-employment in India as a disguised form of wage employment, marked by low pay, insecurity and poor working conditions. Similarly, gig workers are vulnerable to uncertainty, lack of protection, and poor working environments – often in the garb of “flexibility”.
At present, the Indian labour regulations only recognise three primary categories of employees, i.e. public sector undertakings (PSUs), government employees, and private sector employees. Hence, gig workers are not covered under major labour laws such as the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, which guarantees minimum wage protection to formal employees.
In 2020, the government introduced four new labour codes. This includes the Code on Social Security, which clearly defines gig worker as someone whose work arrangements fall outside the traditional employer-employee relationship. It also envisages various benefits for gig workers through the formulation of schemes like life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, and creche and other benefits.
The Code further mandates the formation of a National Social Security Board, which is tasked with recommending welfare schemes for gig workers. Despite these provisions, the implementation in reality has been poor. Three Indian states – Rajasthan, Karnataka, and now Telangana – have introduced legislation for gig and platform workers.
The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act of 2023 requires employers and aggregators to deposit a monthly welfare cess for the benefit of gig workers in the state. Similarly, the Telangana government has put forward a draft bill titled the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers (Registration, Social Security, and Welfare) Act of 2025, mandating that aggregators and employers register the data of their workers.
The absence of a nationwide protection regulation for gig workers leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and insecurity. While their work is often seen as a digital success story and a sign of technological progress, the lives of gig workers reflect the unbalanced story of the gig economy.
First, a nation-wide collection of data on gig workers (like the Periodic Labour Force Survey) seems necessary to understand the socio-economic determinants, working conditions, and regional patterns of gig employment across the country. The current classification of gig workers as “self-employed” also warrants re-evaluation.
While policymakers emphasise technological progress, digital empowerment, the flexibility of workforce, and increasing absorption of the labour force into gig work, it is equally important to ask: who are the gig workers and how are their rights protected? Mandatory minimum wages, access to social security, the right to collective bargaining, and protection against algorithmic biases and arbitrary deactivation are important.
There are reports of gig workers saying that they find their accounts arbitrarily deactivated if they have taken a day off or canceled any booking, or sometimes without any reason. Gig work is different from traditional employment relationships and so are the vulnerabilities it creates. As such, both the state and platform employers share responsibility in ensuring fair treatment and protections for gig workers in the gig economy.
What distinguishes gig work from traditional employment in terms of labour rights and protections?
The classification of gig workers as “self-employed” is considered problematic. Why?
What are the key provisions of the Code on Social Security, 2020 with respect to gig workers?
How have states like Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Telangana responded differently to the challenges faced by gig workers?
Gig work is seen as especially significant for women in India and across the Global South. Do you agree? Support your answers with examples.
(Ritwika Patgiri is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Economics, South Asian University.)
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