Prepare for growing gig workforce

The Niti Aayog’s latest report on the growth of the gig and platform economy in India throws light on the emerging employment scenarios in the country and the challenges they pose. The report has estimated that the current workforce of about eight million will rise to 23.5 million in a decade, and that it will be about 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce by then. Gig workers are defined as those who work outside the “traditional employer-employee arrangement” and platform workers are those “whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms”. According to the report, more than 75% of the companies have less than 10% gig headcount at present, but “this proportion is bound to rise...with MNCs turning to flexible hiring options.” Forms of employment change as a result of changes in the economy and styles of consumption, and these changes will happen faster than in the past.

The number of gig workers is increasing as app-based work for transport and delivery of food, grocery and other goods and services is increasing. Employment in the gig economy is considered as work outside the formal and traditional employee-employer relationship. The report says that the “platform worker is placed at the unique intersection of formal and informal classification’’. There are some advantages for such work but there are many problems, too. Gig workers are not entitled to normal professional and social welfare benefits which workers in the traditional streams are entitled to. The Social Security Code (SSC) of 2020 mentions that certain benefits like accident insurance should be made available to those registered under the Aadhaar-seeded e-shram portal, but they are still not eligible for major benefits like provident fund, medical care and retirement benefits. The report says benefits, like paid sick leave and access to health and insurance, should be given to them.

In some countries like the United States, gig workers are recognised as employees. But there is still no legal definition of gig workers in India. The lack of a clear definition prevents them from making full use of the Social Security Code. Since the economy is going to expand, the number of workers will increase fast, and it will no longer be able to ignore them. Lack of job security, irregularity of wages, uncertain employment status and special physical and psychological problems arising from the nature of work are some issues that gig and platform workers have to cope with. Many of them are low-skilled. The report calls for a framework that balances the flexibility offered by platforms with the need to ensure social security for the workers. The report is timely and should prompt the government to take the necessary follow-up action.