Karnataka to set up gig workers’ board with up to 5% cess per transaction

Bengaluru: Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday gave his approval to the Karnataka government’s proposal to introduce a Bill to set up a welfare board for gig workers, which will be funded by a cess on a per-transaction basis, which may extend up to 5 per cent.

Rahul huddled with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Labour Minister Santosh Lad, Industries Minister M B Patil, IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge and three worker representatives in New Delhi, where the eight-point proposal of the Labour Department was reportedly welcomed.

The Congress government has been working on the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill for several months. It was one of Rahul’s key promises during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and a part of the Congress manifesto for both the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

A note from the chief minister’s office pointed out that a 5 per cent cess of the total payout to the gig workers would be levied from aggregators like Ola, Uber, Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato and so on, which will flow into the welfare board.

The state government will provide the remaining funds for the board, the note added.

However, Lad told DH that the exact amount of cess would be discussed in the upcoming Cabinet on April 11.

“According to the current draft, the Bill proposes a 1-2 per cent cess per transaction. However, we can increase it since the labour codes of the Union government allow a maximum cess of 5 per cent. The department is positively looking at a higher cess but the final decision is left to the Cabinet,” he added.

After getting the Cabinet’s nod, the government is expected to promulgate an ordinance, followed by a Bill in the monsoon session of the legislature.

The meeting with the ministers concerned is crucial as there had reportedly been some differences within the Cabinet when the Bill had previously come up for discussion before the Winter Session of the Legislature, which caused it to be deferred.

Priyank and Patil reportedly raised some concerns from the industry and IT sectors. A source in the Industries Department told DH that there are fears that the “inspector raj” would return.

“Bengaluru’s start-up ecosystem has thrived because there are certain liberal aspects, which have helped the growth of aggregators. However, the interest of the delivery boys must also be safeguarded,” the source added.

Satyanand Mukund, the state secretary of AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress), welcomed the decision but urged the government to soon bring out the Bill.

“The cess amount has to be scientifically calculated. We also urge that the cess should be levied on the percentage of the total transaction cost and not just on the wage, as it will be very less.”

If the Bill is proposed, Karnataka will be the third state, after Rajasthan and Jharkhand, to propose a Bill safeguarding the welfare interests of the gig workers.