Nasscom's feedback on Karnataka govt's Bill for welfare and social security of platform gig workers

Terms of use

Terms of Use

The use of this site and the content contained therein is governed by the Terms of Use. When you use this site you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and that you accept and will be bound by the terms hereof and such terms as may be modified from time to time.

All text, graphics, audio, design and other works on the site are the copyrighted works of nasscom unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
Content on the site is for personal use only and may be downloaded provided the material is kept intact and there is no violation of the copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights. Any alteration of the material or use of the material contained in the site for any other purpose is a violation of the copyright of nasscom and / or its affiliates or associates or of its third-party information providers. This material cannot be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way for non-personal use without obtaining the prior permission from nasscom.
The nasscom Members login is for the reference of only registered nasscom Member Companies.
nasscom reserves the right to modify the terms of use of any service without any liability. nasscom reserves the right to take all measures necessary to prevent access to any service or termination of service if the terms of use are not complied with or are contravened or there is any violation of copyright, trademark or other proprietary right.
From time to time nasscom may supplement these terms of use with additional terms pertaining to specific content (additional terms). Such additional terms are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms of Use.

Disclaimer

The Company information provided on the nasscom web site is as per data collected by companies. nasscom is not liable on the authenticity of such data.
nasscom has exercised due diligence in checking the correctness and authenticity of the information contained in the site, but nasscom or any of its affiliates or associates or employees shall not be in any way responsible for any loss or damage that may arise to any person from any inadvertent error in the information contained in this site. The information from or through this site is provided "as is" and all warranties express or implied of any kind, regarding any matter pertaining to any service or channel, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement are disclaimed. nasscom and its affiliates and associates shall not be liable, at any time, for any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to, alteration of, or use of information contained on the site. No representations, warranties or guarantees whatsoever are made as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, completeness, suitability or applicability of the information to a particular situation.
nasscom or its affiliates or associates or its employees do not provide any judgments or warranty in respect of the authenticity or correctness of the content of other services or sites to which links are provided. A link to another service or site is not an endorsement of any products or services on such site or the site.
The content provided is for information purposes alone and does not substitute for specific advice whether investment, legal, taxation or otherwise. nasscom disclaims all liability for damages caused by use of content on the site.
All responsibility and liability for any damages caused by downloading of any data is disclaimed.
nasscom reserves the right to modify, suspend / cancel, or discontinue any or all sections, or service at any time without notice.

For any grievances under the Information Technology Act 2000, please get in touch with Grievance Officer, Mr. Anirban Mandal at data-query@nasscom.in.

New

See all

No notification found.

Nasscom's feedback on Karnataka govt's Bill for welfare and social security of platform gig workers

Sudipto

@Sudipto

July 11, 2024

Public Policy

345

Given India’s overwhelming workforce both in the formal and informal sector, gig workers have always been part and parcel of our economy. This is necessary given the size of the informal workforce and difficulties in creating enough salaried jobs. However, the term “gig worker” has reacquired attention over the last decade with their growing participation in the platform economy (cab aggregators, food delivery, logistics). A recent NCAER study (2023) shows that digital platforms have created jobs for young urban male who use platform gig work not as a career option but to augment incomes for a short duration.

Typically, platform gig workers are not employees and as a result, they often lack access to social protection systems designed for employment relationships. Some contend that platform gig workers, despite being classified as independent contractors, face similar vulnerabilities and risks as traditional employees. Further, at times, the element of difference between gig work and regular employment (like, autonomy, work instructions) may get blurry requiring closer examination. For instance, EU member states are debating a proposal to establish a legal presumption of employment in their legal systems, to be triggered when facts indicating control and direction are found.

Over the years, the concern around lack of social protection of such platform gig workers has been acknowledged globally. Countries have framed rules (India has designed such welfare measures under the Code on Social Security, 2020 - CoSS) or contemplating to make to ensure social protection of such gig worker. During India’s G20 Presidency, the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration listed ‘ensuring adequate social protection and decent working conditions for gig and platform workers’ as one of its goals to address skill gaps in the world.

While the central law - CoSS is yet to come into operation, some of the states have legislated or in the process of making such laws for social security and protection of platform gig workers. However, these interventions have been sudden and isolated without involvement of the relevant stakeholders which is not a correct approach to address the situation.

The recent Karnataka Platform based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024 (Bill), while premised on a good intention, suffers from many challenges. Nasscom has given a detailed representation (see, attachment) to the government of Karnataka to highlight the challenges with the Bill and recommended that any proposal of this significance which impacts the platform industry needs extensive consultations.

The representation highlights some of the following concerns:

The Bill proposes a parallel structure of social security law for platform gig workers, duplicating the central law – CoSS. It does not propose a sunset clause-mechanism that will subsume the Bill into the CoSS when the same comes into force.

It assumes gig work to be a part of employer-employee relationship, which risks unsettling the conceptual and legal basis of gig work. This assumption is core of the Bill and basis this, it prescribes several obligations which may be relevant only in an employer-employee relationship.
It proposes a parallel fee structure as the aggregators who would contribute funds under the CoSS (once it is notified), would also contribute funds for similar purposes under this Bill. Further, the fee structure suffers from multiple design level concerns.
Then the Bill lays down onerous and prescriptive obligations on aggregators like minimum notice period for termination, algorithmic disclosures, monitoring and tracking mechanism and prescribing terms of contract. These obligations are incompatible with the functioning of gig platforms and can adversely impact their operations in Karnataka.
The Bill has serious gaps not only from an industry perspective but also from the gig workers perspective, as it fails to state the end-use of fees/funds collected from aggregators/platforms.

Social security and welfare of platform gig workers is an important policy concern. However, we need a balance between social security and flexibility of platform to retain gig workers in terms of obligations and cost of doing business.

With this understanding, nasscom has requested that:

The public consultation period should be extended to at least forty-five (45) working days (from ten working days) for a meaningful consultation.

As part of the consultation, the government may convene an inter-departmental meeting (involving the Department of Labour, Department of Electronics Information Technology Biotechnology and Science & Technology and Department of Commerce and Industries). Such meeting should invite participation of platform businesses operating in Karnataka, industry associations and other relevant stakeholders.

For more information on the above, please write to sudipto@nasscom.in with a copy to policy@nasscom.in.

platform gig workers social security Karnataka

Disclaimer

That the contents of third-party articles/blogs published here on the website, and the interpretation of all information in the article/blogs such as data, maps, numbers, opinions etc. displayed in the article/blogs and views or the opinions expressed within the content are solely of the author's; and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of NASSCOM or its affiliates in any manner. NASSCOM does not take any liability w.r.t. content in any manner and will not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any kind of liability arising out of any act, error or omission. The contents of third-party article/blogs published, are provided solely as convenience; and the presence of these articles/blogs should not, under any circumstances, be considered as an endorsement of the contents by NASSCOM in any manner; and if you chose to access these articles/blogs , you do so at your own risk.

Download Attachment

Sudipto