Gig or ‘blue-collar’ workers are a common sight on the streets in any part of India. They are, in real sense, the harbingers of a new commercial culture that entails home-bound facilities to lakhs of people within the least possible time and with full responsibility. Many start-ups are flourishing just because of their presence in their scheme of things. It is they who run others' errands day and night braving the extreme weather conditions and many a time, at the cost of their health and resources. Their job is really tough in comparison to many others of their ilk. However, in lieu of their stupendous task, they are not covered under any security cover of the state. Their employers don't consider them as a part of their establishments. They call them "partners” instead of their employees. They judge their performance on the basis of a rating system which does not visualize their physical and mental labour. They are dismissed from their job if they fail to achieve a good rating. Not only this but also, the employers also apply other multifarious tools to harass them at their sweet will. Sometimes, they face the unbecoming and arrogant behaviour of their clients also, and if they complain to the concerned authorities, they are generally ignored by them. Till now, there is no separate law to deal with their services and treat them under the ambit of prevalent labour laws in India.

At present, there are an estimated 7.7 million gig workers in India. According to a Niti Aayog report of 2022, India will have 23.5 million gig workers by 2029-30. Its size is estimated to touch $455 billion by the same year, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 17%, according to a recent Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India report. (Zia Haq, Social security plan for gig workers firmed up, Hindustan Times, Apr 8, 2025.) Around two lakh gig workers work with platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, Ola, Urban Company, Porter, Dunzo, Amazon, Flipkart and so on in Bengaluru alone. (Shilpa Elizabeth, What does Karnataka Bill promise gig workers?, The Hindu, Jul 7, 2024.) Thus, there is no denying the fact that India's gig economy is rapidly expanding.

Who is a Gig Worker?

There is no standard definition of a gig worker as such. But different legislations and enactments have given definitions of gig workers which may be enumerated here as such:

The Code on Social Security, 2020

This is one of the four new labour laws passed by the present government between 2019 and 2020. It mandates benefits for gig workers. Section 2(35) of the Code defines a gig worker as:

“A person who participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship.”

Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023

Section 2(e) of the Act defines gig worker as such:

“gig worker” means a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship and who works on contract that results in a given rate of payment, based on terms and conditions laid down in such contract and includes all piece-rate work.”

The draft Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill,2024

The current Bill defines the gig worker as such:

“A person who performs a work or participates in a work arrangement that results in a given rate of payment, based on terms and conditions laid down in such a contract and includes all piece-rate work, and whose work is sourced through a platform, in the services specified in Schedule-1.”

From a perusal of all the three definitions of gig workers given above, it is obvious that they are broadly similar. But that needs to be standardized through appropriate central legislation.

The Legal Provisions to Regulate Gig Workers’ Conditions

Social Security Code, 2020

It was passed by Parliament in 2020 but has not been implemented yet because the rules are yet to be framed by all states which is required. The Code provides for framing of measures for gig workers on “matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection” etc. It also mandates the setting up of a social security fund to cater to platform workers. (Zia Haq, Social security plan for gig workers firmed up, Hindustan Times, Apr 8, 2025.) The Union Labour and Employment Minister, Mansukh Mandavia said that the Social Security Code which covers the gig economy is a key step in “"acknowledging and formalising the roles of gig workers.workers.” (Zia Haq, Gig workers to soon get social security benefits, Hindustan Times, Sep 02, 2024.)

The Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023

This is the first comprehensive law passed in India related to gig workers. It seeks to address the issue of gig work, and safeguard the rights of gig workers.Its other prominent features are as under:

1. The law envisages setting up a multi-stakeholder welfare board which will have representations from both the gig workers and employers;
2. It provides for a Welfare Fund that will be made up of contributions in the form of cess from gig companies, contributions from workers, state grants, and other sources;
3. The Act sets out the rights of gig workers and the obligation of companies;
4. It contains a grievance redressal mechanism for resolving disputes.
5. In a section of the legislation titled "tracking and monitoring” , the Act stipulates a “Central Transaction and Information Management System” (CTIMS). Under the system, it is mandated that every payment includes "the break-up of the commission charged". GST and welfare cess for each transaction, will be recorded and open to inspection. According to the noted Constitutional lawyer and commentator, Gautam Bhatia, this provision in the Rajasthan law “is markedly innovative even by global standards and seeks to accomplish what no other laws have so far done….The significance of this provision cannot be overstated.”(Gautam Bhatia, Gig workers law deepens industrial democracy, Hindustan Times, Oct 18, 2023. ) The CTIMS provisions are able to tackle a specific problem related to gig workers. Every gig company, whether it is Uber, Ola, Zomato or Swiggy etc., transactions are mediated through an "app". This app, in turn, runs upon an algorithm that determines charges and rates, commissions, and a "rating system”. These platform companies fully control the app and there is complete opaqueness about the algorithms. As a result, workers are left with a unilateral option-either take it or leave changes in their service conditions through the app. They are frequently kept in the dark about the transaction details. In this regard, the CTIMS provisions mandate transparency with respect to the relationship between the company, the app, and the worker, and create a permanent and transparent record. The purpose is to make all transactions open and subject to scrutiny, rather than keep them in the domain of an opaque app and algorithm. (Ibid.)
6. The Act envisages the presence of workers on the welfare board resembles the “works council" models to be seen in Germany and certain Scandinavian countries, which augurs well for the gig workers’ rights.

“The law seeks to empower them by enabling participation, both in the operation of the welfare board as well as through making the terms of service transparent through the CTIMS. Of course, this is just the beginning. It is possible to deepen industrial democracy in the context of the gig economy", says Bhatia in regard to the Rajasthan law. (Ibid.)

The Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024.

This Bill is the latest legislative attempt to regulate the relationship between gig, or platform, workers and the digital.platforms they work for. On June 29, 2024, the Karnataka government published the draft and a year later on 28th June 2025, the Governor of Karnataka cleared the Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Ordinance. Now, it has been declared by the labour minister of Karnataka, Santosh Lad, that the draft rules will be formulated in about two weeks. (KR Balasubramanayam, Karnataka Gig Work Draft Rules in 2 Weeks, The Economic Times, May 29, 2025.) Thus, Karnataka has become the second state to initiate such a move apart from Rajasthan. Its salient features are as such:

1. The new draft Bill is a ‘rights-based bill’ which seeks to protect the rights of platform-based gig workers. The Bill places obligations on aggregators in relation to social security, occupational health and safety of gig workers.
2. The Bill is aimed at introducing safeguards against unfair dismissals;
3. It envisages a two-level grievance redressal mechanism for gig workers;
4. The Bill augurs well for more transparency with regard to the automated monitoring and decision-making systems deployed by platforms;
5. The draft Bill stipulates that the contract between the aggregator and the worker should contain an exhaustive list of grounds on which the contract would be terminated by the aggregator. It also says that the aggregator shall not terminate a worker without giving valid reasons in writing and prior notice of 14 days;
6. In order to put a check on arbitrary deductions, the Bill directs the aggregators to make payments at least every week and to inform the worker about the reasons for payment deductions if any. The new draft Bill envisages that a worker will have the right to refuse a specified number of gigs per week with ‘'reasonable cause” without any adverse consequences.
7. The Bill also seeks to establish a welfare board and a social security and welfare fund for gig workers. A welfare fee would be levied either on every transaction between the worker and the aggregator or on the overall turnover of the company. Also, the welfare fee as well as contributions from Union and State governments would go to the proposed fund.
8. The Bill stipulates that all gig workers must be registered and the aggregators should furnish to the government the database of gig workers;
9. Contracts must be written in a simple language and any change should be notified to the worker at least 14 days before the proposed change. The gig worker will have the option to terminate the contract accordingly without any adverse consequences for their existing entitlements;
10. The duty to provide reasonable and safe working conditions for gig workers entirely rests upon the aggregator, although the word ‘'reasonable’ has not been defined or explained in the draft Bill.

The highlights of the Bill have been enumerated by two scholars, Yameena Zaidi and Anupam Guha in the following words: “The Karnataka Bill while continuing to refer to platform companies as “intermediaries” does provide a clearer definition of gig workers and creates mechanisms for a formal contract between platform companies and workers… .This potentially provides an enabling framework to bring platform-based gig work into the regulatory ambit of labour". They further observe: “Notably, the draft bill states that gig workers have the right to raise disputes through the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and therefore in an indirect, however significant, manner empowers them to make use of existing Indian labour laws and potentially brings gig workers out of regulatory lacuna.” (Yameena Zaidi And Anupam Guha, Rights of the new worker, The Indian Express, Jul 4, 2024.)That is definitely a very significant move in the direction of bringing gig workers into the fold of Indian labour laws.

On the contrary, the noted legal scholar Gautam Bhatia says in an article, “Unfortunately, however, the Bill fails to address the rather significant elephant in the room: The employment status of gig workers, and the rights they can claim by virtue of their status. This is a legal battle that has been taking place in multiple countries across the world.” (Gautam Bhatia, K'taka Bill misses gig workers’ primary ask, Hindustan Times, Jul 30, 2024.) However, the exact position will be ascertained when the current Bill is passed by the state legislature and becomes an Act.

The Central Government's Initiative-Social Security Plan for Gig Workers

The central government is set to announce a social security plan for gig workers, along with health insurance benefits, which is being finalized by a committee of the Union Labour Ministry which was formed in November 2024 headed by an additional secretary ranked official to frame a social security scheme for gig workers.. The representatives from aggregators such as Swiggy, Zomato and Urban Company have also been included in this committee. (Zia Haq, Social security plan for gig workers firmed up, Hindustan Times, Apr 8, 2025.) The proposed measures to be taken under this plan may be : (Zia Haq, Gig workers to soon get social security benefits, Hindustan Times, Sep 02, 2024.)

1. The government will open its e-Shram portal, a national informal workers’ database, to gig and platform workers, which will give them access to federal social security schemes, says Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandavia on Sep 01,2024. Workers registered on the e-Shram portal are covered under public life and accidental insurance among other facilities. Now, they will also get health-insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh under the existing Bharat Jan Aarogya Yojna, which provides hospitalisation benefits through a network of nearly 22,000 empanelled health facilities.
2. Gig workers will have access to pensions under the plan whereby aggregators will contribute a defined share of revenue towards retirement income funds for the workers. Platform-based firms and aggregators are likely to contribute between 1-2% , although the quantum is yet to be finalised.
3. The social security fund for gig workers is likely to be run by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the state-backed retirement income manager that handles the social security accounts of formal-sector employees.
4. The government may rework the definition of gig workers to bring more clarity and enable accurate classification for formalisation and social security.

Conclusion

In India, the size of the workforce in the gig economy is still relatively small but it is likely to grow rapidly in the near future. It may become the biggest source of employment generation in the country. But it will be possible only if the grievances of these workers are addressed as soon as possible. At present, they are not treated as workers so they are out of the purview of the existing labour laws prevalent in the country. That deprives them of so many social security and health insurance benefits provided under various schemes of the labour, health and other ministries of the central government. Their problem needs to be understood in the backdrop of their hard and physically and mentally exhaustive duties with no extra rewards. They are even deprived of basic facilities at the end of their employers. On silly pretexts, their jobs are terminated without giving any notice. The most serious matter is that there is no standard definition of gig workers yet. All these, and several other questions are under consideration of the central and state governments. This is high time to act upon the pending issues and set the ball rolling in favour of lakhs of gig workers. The central government must come up with its newly-conceived plan in this direction at the earliest. Gig workers, like other workers, truly deserve the umbrella of labour laws to protect their interests in the near future.

.    .    .