-The Indian Express The current crisis should force a discussion on the levels of social protection which should be available to gig workers including wage protection, health benefits and safety assurance. COVID-19 has induced a domino effect in the global job market. A few days ago, a strange message landed in my LinkedIn inbox: Desperation was written all over the poignant plea for a job opening. Jobless since March, with an aged...

-Business Standard The government has made an enabling provision in the code to provide insurance cover, under the ESI schemes, to gig, platform and plantation workers Workers employed in the gig economy may soon be eligible for insurance benefits provided by the state-run Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The move is a part of the Social Security Code Bill, 2019 approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. The Code has also proposed...

-TheWire.in Did the auto sector's woes go hand-in-hand with the boom in affordable housing segment under PMAY? Sales in the auto sector and in related industries have fallen considerably in India. Maruti-Suzuki, the country’s leading car manufacturer, has reported a 32.7% decline in its total vehicle sales. There is a similar situation across the sector, including the two-wheeler industry. The sector has already lost over 300,000 jobs. What explains the massive slowdown in...

-TheWire.in For right and wrong reasons, the current dispensation celebrates the creation of any form of employment in India, regardless of quality. The state of California recently passed a landmark bill that has the potential to unleash a systemic change in the gig economy. On the back of a recent judgement by the California Supreme Court, Assembly Bill 5 has legislated that workers in the gig economy be classified as workers and...

-Newsclick.in Data confirms an acute demand crisis in rural India and beyond. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s latest statement on millennials contributing to the auto industry slowdown by shifting their preferences—choosing Ola or Uber ride-booking services instead of buying cars—is feeding many a meme on social media. Even before her statement, sections of industry and the banking sector had been pushing this argument. Not just private banking giants, such as Uday Kotak, but even...