UNFAIR WORKING AND WAGE CONDITIONS OF GIG WORKERS IN INDIA
Written by Piyush mani Tripathi student at INDIAN INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES, SILIGURI Introduction– Do you know about the gig economy? Yes, it is a market system that mainly depends on temporary and part-time jobs instead of traditional full-time employment or the conventional employer-employee system. In simple terms, gig work is also known as freelancing job’s, which includes services such as food delivery and digital works. The gig market system has played a vital role in the growth of the economy and has introduced significant changes. Talking about India, over the past few years, the gig working culture has been booming. If you refer to NITI Aayog’s report titled “ India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy” you will see that before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were around 3 million gig workers in India, which increased to 7.7 million (77 lakh) in 2021. This number continues to rise.¹ The main reason behind the booming gig working culture in India is unemployment.Apart from unemployment, the gig system offers an easy hiring and easy firing process. In this system, if an employee is not working properly, it is easy to immediately remove them and, if required, the company can quickly appoint someone else. This creates convenience for both employers and employees. Additionally, in the gig working system, workers have the option to take up multiple jobs or do gig work as part-time employment for extra income. It also offers the flexibility to work from anywhere depending on the nature of the job, and the working hours are often flexible.But, as we know, every coin has two sides. The other side of gig working culture is very dark and disappointing. Unfair Working and Wage Conditions of Gig Workers- We can broadly divide gig workers into two main categories: Service-based gig workers include those who are unskilled or semi-skilled, commonly referred to as blue-collar workers. On the other hand, knowledge-based gig workers include individuals engaged in highly skilled and highly qualified jobs such as data scientists, AI trainers, consultants, etc., who are also known as white-collar workers. Since white-collar workers receive adequate income and have access to multiple opportunities—due to the high demand and low supply of highly skilled labour—their working conditions are relatively better. However, if we look at the condition of service-based gig workers, such as those involved in food delivery services and other delivery-related jobs, they face multiple difficulties, including very inhuman working schedules. Therefore, this research primarily focuses on the working conditions and wage-related issues of service-based, or blue-collar, gig workers. The problem associated with service based gig worker are large in numbers some of them are following- 1. Exhausting Working Conditions and Long Hours– Particularly those involved in delivery services like food delivery and app-based transportation, service- based gig workers sometimes deal with quite demanding working conditions. Usually riding for 8 to 11 hours a day these workers reach their daily targets. Many food delivery app have rules like “delivery within 30 minutes,” and the pressure to reach these targets mostly rests on the shoulders of the delivery personnel . This compels them to engage in over speeding and choose dangerous paths , which increasing the risk of accidents. A National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), analysis indicates that workers of app-based food delivery platform work approximately 69.3 hours per week. In contrast, if you see the Periodic Labour Force Survey suggests that the average working hours for a worker should be around 56 hours per week. Which clearly indicates that delivery workers are putting in nearly 23% more working hours than the standard, clearly reflecting the inhumane and exploitative nature of their working conditions.² 2. Financial Challenges and Income Fluctuation – According to a report by NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research), which is a prominent think tank, food delivery platform workers in India work an average of 69.3 hours per week—23% more than the average reported in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). This is not a single example ; there are large number of gig workers nationwide put in lengthy and taking workdays. Even though working much harder, their pay is very less. According to a report by Business Manager,³ the average monthly salary for a service-based gig worker is approximately ₹18,000, which is incredibly very less considering the amount of time and effort required. As most of the app based gig workers do not receive a fixed salary. Their earnings are usually depend upon completion of specific targets or tasks, which leads to significant income fluctuation. This lack of income stability is one of the major financial difficulties faced by gig workers. Overall, it is estimated that Approximately 75% of Indian gig workers face financial challenges.⁴ 3. Lack of Legal Protection and Gig Workers’ Rights- Because they do not fit into the traditional employee- employer framework, gig workers in India are still unprotected by traditional labour laws.Widespread discrimination, suchas wrongful termination as per the comfort and need of employer and denial of basic benefit like Health Insurance ,paid leave and retirement benefit this caused by not having proper legal Framework for gig workers. Although Section 2(35) of the Code on Social Security, 2020,⁵ introduced by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, defines a gig worker as “a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship.” While the Code mentions provisions for old-age protection, disability coverage, and accident insurance, but still it is not implemented adequately. However Few state have taken independent initiatives specifically Rajasthan government enacted “the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act” on July 24, 2023, and becoming the first state having legislation specifically for service based gig workers. However, taking stapes from the end of few states is not enough. there for acomprehensive, uniformly implemented national legal framework is essential to ensure fair working conditions, wages, and Rights for gig workers across the country. 4. Unionization and lack of Collective Bargaining in the Gig Economy- Unlike
Beyond the App: Legal Protections for India’s Gig Workforce
Written by Himanshu Verma & Nishka Shah students at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar INTRODUCTION As of 2025, there are over 12 million gig workers in India, working for companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, Uber, and Ola, primarily as delivery partners and drivers who are not in a typical employee-employer relationship with the companies. Many workers remain uncertain about their legal status, do they have rights like healthcare, sick leave, or minimum wages. Gig workers are people who work in the gig economy, an economy that is characterised by temporary jobs rather than permanent jobs. The individuals here earn income by performing part-time, flexible or rather freelance jobs usually through digital platforms. Employed on a temporary, contractual basis, they lack rights like minimum wages or paid sick leave. This blog will further delve into the labour laws and the rights to which the gig workers are entitled. UNDERSTANDING THE NUANCES OF THE GIG ECONOMY IN INDIA The rapid rise of digitalisation and widespread internet access has transformed the economic landscape worldwide and has determined the future of labour and employment by laying a solid foundation for the gig economy. The rise of start-ups and increasing consumer demand for quick services like food delivery has created many opportunities for gig workers in customer service roles. The “2021 World Employment and Social Outlook Report”, published by the International Labour Organisation,suggested that the number of digital labour platforms has increased fivefold over the past ten years. As E-commerce is expanding in India, it has become one of the biggest worldwide gig hubs according to the Economic Survey of 2020-2021. By the end of 2029-30, it is projected that the gig workforce in India will rise to 23.5 million including a mix of low, medium and high-skilled jobs, accounting for 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce and 4.1% of the overall workforce according to the official report of “NITI Aayog (2022)”. The Gig Economy in India is divided into two categories: platform workers and non-platform workers. Platform workers usually provide services to those companies that use online algorithms in order to connect with their customers, such as Zomato, Swiggy, Amazon, etc., working as Delivery partners. Non-platform workers are those who are engaged in temporary or short-term employment, which does not use digital platforms such as daily wage labourers at construction sites. There are many advantages that the gig economy work offers, attracting individuals to such arrangements primarily due to its flexibility and independence. The workers have the right to choose their work schedules, take time off and choose employers based on personal preference, offering work-life balance. This not only helps freelancers to work on multiple projects at the same time and set their rates, but is also a very good platform for those who are seeking additional income. The temporary nature of work, lack of job security and income instability, limited legal protection and lack of social security benefits, etc., are concerning. Gig workers often face a problem of lower pay and long working hours with no paid sick leaves and insufficient safety measures at the workplace. The workers are being tied to an undefined job status, which leads to their exploitation. Moreover, workers who are Ambitious and have a willingness to learn and develop their skills are not provided with that opportunity. Concerns are raised about the labour laws due to the disruption of the traditional employer-employee arrangement caused by the expansion of the gig economy. Traditional employees, contractual workers, informal workers, etc., are usually governed by a set of laws that aim at protecting the rights of various workers working under this category. They get benefits like Minimum wages, paid sick leaves, Bonuses, Employee provident fund and pensions. Gig workers are often excluded from these protections. Important labour laws are created, such as “The Factories Act 1948”, to address the safety and welfare of the factory workers, “The Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923”, which offers compensation to employees or their families in case of any workplace accidents causing death or disability. Furthermore, “the Minimum Wages Act” and “the Trade Unions Act” are established for the benefit of the workers. But all these laws were created keeping traditional workers in mind; thus, the gig workers are not covered under these sections and are not entitled to any benefits under these. Due to a rise in the number of gig workers in the country and after filing many PILs, laws are now being created to Favour the gig workers, to benefit them and provide them with equal benefits. In the case of “Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) v. Union of India”, IFAT filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Supreme Court in September 2021, claiming that gig workers are not considered eligible for social security payments since they are considered independent contractors. The petitioner also claimed that gig workers employed by app-based platforms should be classified as ‘unorganised workers’ and, therefore, be entitled to social security benefits under existing labour laws. The Delhi High Court in the case of “App-based Transport Workers v. Government of NCT of Delhi” The court has instructed the government to grant social security benefits to the individuals working on gig jobs and discovered that gig workers are eligible for social security benefits such as health and disability insurance, and ordered the government to consider the possibility of implementing a social security scheme for gig workers. For the first time, gig workers were given legal legitimacy in “the Code on Social Security”, released in 2020.The legislation put the workers in a separate category and made it compulsory for them to register to qualify to receive social security benefits. Registration was prohibited by law for anyone below the age of 16 or above the age of 60 from joining. There have been a few state-level initiatives to enhance the well-being of gig workers, including “the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023”. It is the first state-level law in India that targets specifically the gig workers.