According to a Nasscom Aon report India’s gig workforce is expected to reach 23.5 million by 2030 from 7 million in 2021. To benefit the rapidly growing gig economy workforce the Indian government is set to launch a social security scheme. This initiative aimed to cover 7.7 million gig workers thereby considered a milestone in formalising a nontraditional labour market that earlier left out of traditional employment benefits.
Key Highlights
To provide a much-needed safety net to gig workers the new scheme includes the establishment of a Social Security fund. Reports suggest that this fund will be largely financed by aggregators or companies employing gig workers. Each will contribute 1% to 2% of their revenue towards the fund. The objective is to utilise this fund by offering essential social security like health Insurance, and other benefits to gig workers.
Connecting with e-Shram Portal
The groundwork for this initiative has already been laid by the government with the launch of the e-Shram portal, a state-run database that registers the informal workforce including gig workers. Presently 30 crore workers registered in the portal accessing benefits of various social welfare schemes like free rations and others. This database will be used in the upcoming scheme to streamline the enrolment process of gig workers, ensuring easy accessibility and affordability of the benefits being offered.
In support, the government is also planning to launch an online platform that will help aggregators and gig platforms register their workers on the e-Shram portal. This online platform will help in enhancing accessibility by ensuring wider coverage for gig workers.
Unresolved Ambiguities and Challenges
The scheme is quite promising but there are unresolved ambiguities and challenges with respect to the legal definition of employee-employer relationship and gig workers’ rights. Between 2019 and 2020 the government passed labour codes that consolidated the 29 labour laws into four major codes to simplify labour regulations and improve job creation. However, with most of the states not yet finalising rules they are not implemented completely. Additionally, with gig workers not considering themselves part of the traditional labour market there are peripheral ambiguities regarding defining working hours, benefits and wages for gig workers.
Conclusion
The new social security scheme launched by the Indian government to extend employment benefits to gig workers represents a significant step towards providing necessary protection to this segment. However, for its true effectiveness, the scheme needs to navigate the administrative and legal challenges that define the gig economy. If implemented successfully, this could serve as a model framework for other countries dealing with the rising gig economy.