INTRODUCTION
‘Gig workers’, popularly known as ‘independent contractors’, ‘platform workers’ or ‘temporary workers’, are those who work for a temporary period, particularly on an ‘on demand’ basis including online services. The recent happenings across the world resulted in an upsurge in unemployment across the whole world. India saw a rise in the new economy i.e., the ‘Gig economy’ which does not fall under the age-old ancient employer-employee relationship. ‘Gig workers’ need not be misunderstood as ‘part-time workers’ as the latter form a formal part of the organization. These roles are most commonly considered as blue-collar jobs. Some examples of platform workers include OLA drivers, Uber drivers, Swiggy, Zomato and other delivery staff. There is not even an iota of doubt as to how much these workers contribute to the economy but still do not get equitable treatment whether socially or economically.
Understanding the pressing priority, the northwestern state of Rajasthan has come up with legislation governing the ‘Gig Economy’ i.e., The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023 making it the first of its kind state to recognise the social and other rights of these workers.
So far as the central legislation is concerned, the Code of Social Security 2020 entails certain provisions for the social improvement and upliftment of unorganised and gig workers. There are various benefits for the gig economy under this code and the current Act by the Rajasthan government can be seen as a filmed sequence of it.
THE GIG ECONOMY
According to a policy framework of NITI Aayog, “estimates show that nearly 77 lakh or 7.7 million individuals were engaged in the gig economy as in the year 2020-21. It is further anticipated that this number will rise to 23.5 million workers by 2029-30”[1]. Independent contractors and online service platform workers like OLA Uber drivers and delivery persons of Swiggy and Zomato are the major contributors to the gig population.
The recent years have seen a boom in many technological and social factors thus contributing more workforce in the gig economy. Some major driving factors include:
- The easy and expeditious availability of the internet and mobile services thus fostering more connectivity
- The increase in economic liberalisation which opened avenues for the open market while increasing the competition and
- The pressing demand for flexible working hours to achieve a balance between personal and professional life
Since there is no full-fledged regulation for governing the gig workforce, there are a lot of conflicts and issues like lack of social security, the digital divide and exploitation by the companies.
THE ‘RAISE’ FRAMEWORK AND THE CODE ON SOCIAL SECURITY 2020
When it comes to a workforce, there are some moral, legal and social rights and duties of the people engaged in various sectors including both the organised and unorganised ones. There are some noticeable issues related to the unorganised and gig workers such as life and disability cover, insurance facilities, health and maternity benefits, old age pension and unregulated exploitation by the companies.
To provide an umbrella view, a consolidated code, the Code on Social Security was formed in the year 2020 consolidating the then scattered legislations on social security to workers. Section 45[2] and Chapter IX of the code provide provisions for, ‘Social Security for Unorganised Workers, Gig Workers and Platform Workers’[3]. The code provides a noticeable and enhanced degree of coverage while taking care of the unorganised sector workers as well. It entails provisions like the ‘National Social Security Board’ to recommend and monitor the schemes of these workers.
To catalyse the socio-economic upliftment of these workers, there is a need to delve into the ‘RAISE Framework’[4]. It denotes, “Recognise the varied nature of platform work to design equitable schemes. Allow augmentation of social security through innovative financing mechanisms. Incorporate, while designing schemes, the specific interests of platforms, factoring the impact on job creation, platform businesses and workers. Support workers to subscribe to government schemes and welfare programmes through widespread awareness campaigns. Ensure benefits are readily accessible to workers”. A sincere working while keeping these factors in mind will subsequently help in achieving the holistic growth of the gig economy.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RAJASTHAN PLATFORM-BASED GIG WORKERS (REGISTRATION AND WELFARE) ACT 2023
The Rajasthan platform-based gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023[5] focuses on building the ever-persisting gap between the organised and unorganised workforce of the State. The Act is framed while aligning it with the central-level legislation i.e., the Social Security Code 2020 [“SS Code”]. Some of the key highlights of the Act are:
- The objective of the State Government behind the legislation is to strive to inculcate provisions for the registration of aggregators and gig workers so as to facilitate social security for the target workforce.
- The time period for registration is 60 days from the date on which the Act comes into force.
- Furthermore, to strengthen the position of such a workforce, there are provisions for the welfare board to collect charges from the aggregators amongst other benefits by the government. The major task of the Board is to ensure timely registration and to monitor the fluent working of the applicable schemes. Also, it needs to ensure that the rights of the workers are protected. A welfare cess of 1% – 2% of the value of each transaction as notified by the state government will be transferred to the welfare fund via aggregators and principal employer
- The Board will have equal representation of two members each from workers as well as aggregators side. Other board members will be individuals from the Department of Labour, Department of Information Technology, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Transport, department of Finance and representatives of civil society having an interest in the domain as evaluated by the state government.
- The State Government while keeping a database of all the data of these workers will provide them with a ‘Unique ID’ which remains active for an indefinite period
- A register containing all the registered aggregators’ names will be published on the official web portal of the State Government.
- All the accounts will be audited annually by the Accountant General of Rajasthan.
- In case of any contravention, there will be a hefty penalty on the principal employer which can amount to 2 lakh and in the case of the aggregator it can be 50 lakh.
Thus, the Act aims to bridge the ever-deepening societal and economic gap between the gig workforce and other workforce by focusing on a holistic view of the major issues and their solutions. The Act seems to be a step towards upholding and protecting the basic fundamental right to live a life of dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution[6].
THE TERMINOLOGICAL TUSSLE IN THE ACT
Since the gig economy does not fall under the traditional employer-employee relationship, a lot of terminological debate is there. The Act uses terms like ‘aggregators’ and ‘principal employer’ instead of ‘employer’ which attracts conflicts as to why the gig workers are not included in the traditional employer-employee relationship. The world holds a variety of opinions with regard to the status of these workers. Countries like the Netherlands[7] and Switzerland[8] treat gig workers the same as employees and are entitled to similar benefits as employees. While Countries like Canada[9] have a similar standing as India i.e., to classify them as a separate community. Some people also argue that why the current labour laws are not utilised properly to cover these workers in their ambit.
CONCLUSION
No matter whatever work it is and whoever is the workman, every individual has the right to live a dignified life under our grundnorm i.e. The Constitution of India. The Act is open to criticism in the above-mentioned sphere particularly for its terminology but it cannot be denied that such regulation seems to be a landmark step by the State and sets an example for all other States. Overall, the Act brings much-needed legislation while recognising the rights of the otherwise overlooked population. There is no beating around the bush to substantiate that the gig workforce plays a crucial role in the economic growth of the nation. Since every legislation has its own pros and cons, this Act needs a vigilant execution while constantly refining the defects via framing rules under the Act.
Author(s) Name: Ankita Bhardwaj (ICFAI Law School, The ICFAI University, Jaipur)
References:
[1] (Home | NITI Aayog) <www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-06/Policy_Brief_India’s_Booming_Gig_and_Platform_Economy_27062022.pdf> accessed 17 October 2023
[2] The Code on Social Security 2020, s. 45
[3] The Code on Social Security 2020, s. 109-114
[4] (Home | NITI Aayog) pg. no. 7 <www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-06/Policy_Brief_India’s_Booming_Gig_and_Platform_Economy_27062022.pdf> accessed 22 October 2023
[5] The Rajasthan platform-based gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act 2023
[6] The Constitution of India 1950, Art. 21
[7] ‘Rechtspraak.nl – Zoeken in uitspraken’ (Rechtspraak.nl – Zoeken in uitspraken) <https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/#!/details?id=ECLI:NL:HR:2023:443> accessed 23 October 2023
[8] ‘2C_575/2020 30.05.2022’ (Schweizerisches Bundesgericht – Willkommen auf der Website des Schweizerischen Bundesgerichts) <www.bger.ch/ext/eurospider/live/fr/php/aza/http/index.php?highlight_docid=aza://aza://30-05-2022-2C_575-2020&lang=fr&zoom=&type=show_document> accessed 23 October 2023
[9] ‘Law Document English View’ (Ontario.ca) <www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/95l01> accessed 23 October 2023
