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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Perils of the Gig Economy -Asiya Islam and Damni Kain

Perils of the Gig Economy -Asiya Islam and Damni Kain

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published Published on Oct 25, 2022   modified Modified on Oct 26, 2022

-TheIndiaForum.in

The uncritical tone of the NITI Aayog’s recent report on the gig economy in India and its belief that platformisation will create an inclusive working environment is, at best, credulous, and, at worst, a deliberate attempt to ignore the erosion of workers’ rights, security, and welfare.

In August 2022, more than a hundred workers in Bengaluru working for online food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy went on strike. Echoing central trade unions’ demand for minimum wages, they wanted Swiggy to pay them a fixed salary of Rs. 26,000 a month. Similarly, in October 2021, around 50 women spa and salon workers working for home services platform Urban Company protested outside its headquarters in Gurugram against unfair terms and conditions.

These workers’ protests and their demand for secure wages and improved terms and conditions were not unusual, as the history of labour rights movements around the world shows. But what was unusual was their adoption of conventional workers’ tactics when they are anything but conventional workers. The platforms they work for, Swiggy and Urban Company, only recognise them as “partners”, not as employees.

Given the expansion of gig and platform work in India, it is timely that NITI Aayog released a report entitled “India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work” in June 2022. It estimates the number of gig and platform workers, assesses the state of the gig and platform economy and its future, and offers policy recommendations.

The report uses the word “potential” 66 times and the word “growth” 93 times, accurately indicating the general upbeat tone adopted towards the gig and platform economy in popular discourse. In contrast, the words “protest”, “strike”, “unions”, and “workers’ associations” find no mention despite a significant and growing gig workers’ movement, which has led to the emergence of new unions such as the All India Gig Workers’ Union, Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers, and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union. We respond here to the report and highlight the real issues and workers’ voices that need to be taken into account when formulating policies on the future of work.

Please click here to read more. 


TheIndiaForum.in, 25 October, 2022, https://www.theindiaforum.in/forum/perils-gig-economy


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