Can’t fire gig worker without valid reason, prior notice: Karnataka releases draft Bill

Bengaluru: Gig workers cannot be fired from their jobs by aggregators without “valid reasons” and a prior notice of 14 days, a Bill drafted by the Karnataka labour department has proposed.

The draft Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, has been made public for feedback by the labour department.

The ruling Congress, in its Assembly election manifesto last year, had promised a gig workers’ welfare board. Bengaluru reportedly has two lakh gig workers.

“An aggregator shall not terminate a gig worker without giving valid reasons in writing and with prior notice of 14 days,” the Bill states.

“The contractual agreement entered into between the aggregator and the platform-based gig worker shall contain an exhaustive list of grounds for termination of contract by the aggregator or deactivation of the gig worker from the platform,” the Bill adds.

Any changes in the terms of a contract should be notified to the gig worker not less than 14 days before the proposed change. “...the platform-based gig worker shall have the option to accordingly terminate the contract, without any adverse consequences for their existing entitlements under the previous contract,” the Bill states.

Under the proposed law, the government will constitute a Gig Workers Welfare Board. This Board will register all gig workers and aggregators. The 10-member Board chaired by the labour minister will have two representatives of gig workers, two from aggregators and one civil society member, all of them nominated by the government.

The government is further proposing a grievance redressal mechanism for gig workers to raise matters related to entitlements, payments and other benefits.

Every aggregator with more than 50 workers registered on its platform should constitute an internal dispute resolution committee, the Bill states.

Fund for gig workers

The Bill proposes to create the Karnataka Gig Workers Social Security and Welfare Fund.

For this, a Gig Workers Welfare Fee will be levied “at such rate (per cent) of the pay of the platform-based gig worker in each transaction or on the annual state-specific turnover as may be notified by the state government”, according to the Bill.

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