The Labour Department in Karnataka has received monetary assistance of Rs 10 crore from the finance department, which will be used as a corpus fund to provide Rs 4 lakh health insurance cover to gig workers. A government order has been issued by the Karnataka Labour Department to this effect.
Although exact official figures are not available, there are reportedly more than two lakh gig workers in the state.
There will soon be a portal for gig workers via which they will be able to register and apply for the scheme. The beneficiaries will be identified through a certification process to identify the beneficiaries. The detailed framework of the scheme will soon be prepared for implementation.
This scheme will be of benefit to the gig workers in the unorganised sector, including the delivery workers from the e-commerce space, employed by firms such as Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, and so on.
Karnataka government is not the only one caring for its gig workers. Earlier this month, the Government of Rajasthan approved the draft regulation, ‘Rajasthan Part-Time Contractual Hiring Rules-2023’, wherein retirement benefits will be offered to part-time staff of the administrative departments of the state.
That means, the contract staff will enjoy the same benefits as the full-time staff members. In other words, they will be eligible for financial support of Rs 2-3 lakh as retirement benefits. This will be given to part-time staff after they retire, or in the event of their death or if their services are terminated.
