Gig workers in Karnataka had reason to celebrate when the state government released the draft of the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill-2024. After all, the Bill was aimed at offering significant protection to gig workers employed with food and service aggregators, as it required the latter to register with the Karnataka Labour Department within 60 days of the implementation of the Bill. Indeed, it was to ensure that gig workers got fair contracts and were not laid off unfairly by the aggregators. However, now many gaps are emerging on closer examination of the draft Bill.
For one, the Bill does not ensure a minimum wage guarantee. It does not speak of regulating the work hours either, which is the biggest bane for delivery personnel and drivers. In fact, the Bill does not mention many of the recent kinds of protection being offered to gig workers and platform workers, globally. It has overlooked addressing issues pertaining to working hours, wage fluctuations, arbitrary incentive schemes, and the ‘hire and fire’ practice that often results in these workers being taken off the gig platform.
It is now common knowledge that gig workers more often than not end up bearing the cost of
fuel, maintenance, as well as other capital costs. These issues have not been effectively addressed in the Bill either.
The draft Bill wasn’t put up on the public domain for more than ten days. For people to review the draft and come up with suggestions and feedback, substantial time is required, which they were clearly not given. On top of that, the Bill was available only in English at first. A version in Kannada was made available only after trade unions raised a hue and cry about it, and that too, just before the deadline, say media reports. That means, the intended beneficiaries, the gig workers, hardly got a chance to take a good look at it.
For gig workers to truly benefit, there is a need to provide for collective bargaining so that they can exercise the fundamental right to Freedom of Association guaranteed by Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India. This has not been touched upon in the Bill.
The Bill does have its pluses. For instance, companies will now be required to explain pay deductions. There was also a plan to set up a welfare fund to support gig workers. However, many feel it could do with a re-examination.
