Interview: Gig work legislations an important starting point for labour protection

India’s gig workforce is expected to expand from about 8 million workers in 2020-’21 to 24 million by 2029-’30, the NITI Aayog – government’s policy think-tank – estimated in June 2022. But lack of protections for these workers has left them vulnerable, and over the years, there have been multiple protests by workers for access to entitlements.

In August, Karnataka passed the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2025 that will replace the Ordinance from May 2025. It is expected to benefit 400,000 gig workers in the state. Bihar and Rajasthan already have similar acts, while Jharkhand and Telangana have drafted similar bills.

The Karnataka legislation provides for the formation of a tripartite welfare board, mandatory registration of gig workers with the board, a welfare fee of 1%-5% of payout to workers on every transaction conducted on platform, and protection against arbitrary deactivation of worker IDs.

Compared to the Rajasthan law – which is largely limited to social security – Karnataka and Bihar’s legislations are more explicit in addressing transparency in contracts, protection against termination and grievance redressal, explained Saurabh Bhattacharjee, associate professor at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, and the co-director of its Centre for Labour Studies.

The Social Security Code, 2020, one of the four labour codes which are yet to be implemented, “merely allows for the creation of social...

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