Questions still on how far labour codes will change gig workers' lot

Ahmed Mohiuddin, who works for a leading food delivery company, wants a “waiting fee”. He says in his hometown, Hyderabad, delivery persons like him spend 4-5 hours just waiting on most days for orders to get ready. The company recently raised the total payout to delivery personnel by about 10 per cent but he says more is needed, including longer delivery cutoff time.

As of now, regardless of distance, weather conditions or traffic, every delivery must be completed within 45 minutes or the delivery person gets a rating downgrade. And eventually, lesser earnings. The demand is to extend the cutoff to at least an hour so that deliveries up to 20 km can also be completed in time.

In the national capital, Kamaljeet Gill, president of Sarvodaya Drivers Association of Delhi, says when Covid-19 disrupted earnings, cab aggregators extended no help to the drivers – not even the bare minimum to pay their vehicle loan EMIs. It was a far cry from the time, seven years ago, when drivers of one cab aggregator were given Rs 15,000 each week for almost two months after allegations of rape by a driver on the platform severely impacted its services, he says.

In the expanding world of gig workers, tough working conditions and absence of social security is almost a given. The Supreme Court had, earlier this month, issued notices to the Centre on a public interest litigation (PIL), by the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), seeking social security benefits for gig workers associated with online platforms such as Zomato, Ola, Uber and Swiggy.

Meanwhile, of the four new labour codes, only one (Code on Social Security) includes gig workers, says Alok Prasanna Kumar, co-founder of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. This code defines gig workers as people who perform work or participate in a work arrangement and earn from such activities “outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship”. In a written reply in Lok Sabha on December 20, Labour Minister Bhupinder Yadav said the code envisages various benefits for gig and platform workers through the framing of schemes – including (i) life and disability cover; (ii) accident insurance; (iii) health and maternity benefits; (iv) old-age protection; (v) crèche and other benefits – as may be determined by the central government. However, “the provisions of the code have not come into force,” he added.

The codes, which have been notified, are reportedly likely to be implemented in the next fiscal year. There is concern, though, that the implication of the four codes on state labour laws is still unclear, says one person who does not wish to be named. At least 13 states are, meanwhile, said to have pre-published draft rules on these codes.

Pointing to the vulnerability of the gig economy, the petition says that recently, two large cab aggregators “updated” the service agreements for their riders and drivers to “essentially absolve the ride sharing/ hailing company (the aggregator) of all liabilities and/or responsibilities towards the drivers or riders”. One of the aggregators, for instance, has stopped using the word “partner” in the agreement and now defines individuals utilising its app service for commercial gains as “customers”. “This is obviously an attempt to distance itself from any language that would make the aggregator responsible for providing the drivers with social security or any form of protection or acknowledging any form of ‘employer-employee’ relationship,” the petition adds.

The social security code, it is hoped, will address issues such as these.

However, a big stumbling block in implementing any sort of social security cover for gig/platform workers is the absence of data. The government has, till now, no idea about the number of gig workers. It has now operationalised the e-shram portal to register all unorganised sector workers, including gig/platform workers. In his reply in Lok Sabha, Yadav said that nearly 729,000 gig workers had registered with the e-shram portal as on December 2.

A Zomato spokesperson, meanwhile, says, “We extend accidental and life insurance for delivery partners along with an OPD allowance. For special care during Covid, we have extended reimbursement for groceries in cities shut due to the lockdown.” Zomato, adds the spokesperson, offers Rs 500 per day for 14 days “as loss-of-pay to any partners who test Covid positive”.

In an official blog, Swiggy said its offers for driver partners include increased hospitalisation cover, loss-of-pay support for those testing Covid-positive/falling ill/meeting with an accident, paid time off in case of bereavement, and Covid-19 death coverage. During lockdowns at various points in 2021, it said it provided partners in 44 cities minimum pay.

While maintaining the company was “committed to the Code on Social Security”, an Uber spokesperson claims the Uber Care Driver Fund launched during the early days of the pandemic with an initial commitment of Rs 25 crore benefited 100,000 driver partners. Among other things, the company also facilitated micro-loans worth Rs 18 crore in the last two years, the spokesperson adds.

Uber, incidentally, has scored a zero in the Fairwork India Ratings 2021 on the working conditions of app-based gig workers, as have Ola and Porter. Flipkart has scored the highest (7 out of 10); Amazon, Dunzo and PharmEasy one each; BigBasket and Swiggy four each; and Urban Company a five. The rating was based on five parameters: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management and fair representation.

Chirag Mittal, co-founder & CEO of Gigforce, an on-demand staffing platform for gig workers, insists none of his customers is reluctant to pay for workers' social security. The problem, he adds, is lack of suitable products and policies for gig workers in the market. Gigforce, he says, is piloting insurance products and early pay loan/credit specifically customised for the gig economy.

Kumar of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy isn’t convinced the labour codes will solve gig workers’ problems “since the definition of workers is linked to a particular employer in these codes. Workmen's compensation, health and safety are all based on the idea that the worker goes to a workplace”. Even in the Code on Social Security, the measures would be at the government’s discretion, he adds.

However, Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive vice-president, Teamlease, is of the view that the code will provide gig workers the sustainable level of protection they need to tide through exigencies, sudden loss of earning potential and health coverage. “The sooner it is implemented the sooner it will aid in creating a semblance of balance in the gig ecosystem for all stakeholders.”