2 weeks Ago
Karnataka’s Labour Minister told News18 that the state is setting up a Gig Workers’ Welfare Board to offer social security and track work patterns. CM Siddaramaiah met Rahul Gandhi to finalise the bill ahead of its Cabinet presentation Come 14 April, the day celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti in honour of Babasaheb Ambedkar, who championed people’s rights, the Karnataka government plans to establish the Gig Workers’ Welfare Board. This was a key promise made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Karnataka election campaign.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to finalise the bill’s details in Delhi on Thursday. It is set to be presented before the cabinet for approval and officially announced before 14 April, said Labour Minister Santhosh Lad. Minister Lad told News18 that the aim of the welfare board and the bill was “purely to obtain data from the industry on how many trips a person completes while working on a particular platform, how they operate as independent workers, and how they generate business for themselves in the gig economy".
An eight-point proposal was discussed with Gandhi, who emphasised the need to protect gig workers’ rights, said the Karnataka minister regarding the meeting. Lad outlined the implementation of the Gig Workers’ Welfare Act, which will form a board to oversee the welfare of platform-based gig workers. He said the bill could be passed through an ordinance, and there was no need to wait for the next Assembly session for its passage.
“It is only at the transaction level, not the entire business transaction. We are only concerned with tracking the movement of individuals transporting goods from point A to point B. Our focus is on collecting data about gig workers — how many trips they complete, how they operate across multiple platforms, and their overall work patterns.
This will help us understand the scale of gig work in the state. Once we have this data, the board will have a clearer picture of the total workforce involved," he explained. There were many questions raised by the industry, including those related to employer-employee relations, the Industrial Act, and whether there would be criminalisation or penalties.
They also sought clarity on whether there would be a “Labour Raj" or inspections from the labour department. All of that has been clarified in several rounds of meetings with the industry, he said. A department source said the bill, which is expected to be presented to the cabinet, will be “more or less" similar to the draft bill that is already in the public domain.
The Gig Workers’ Welfare Board will regulate the well-being of workers employed in app-based services such as Amazon, Ola, Flipkart, and Uber. The Congress-led government had initially planned to pass the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers’ Bill, 2024, last year, but delays arose due to discussions with industry leaders and revisions to the draft. “We have kept our promise and are working towards providing a model Gig Workers’ Bill that can be replicated nationwide," Lad told News18 .
Karnataka, home to one of India’s largest gig worker populations, is introducing a law similar to Rajasthan’s but with modifications. As per discussions on the draft bill, a 5 per cent cess will be collected from the relevant companies, with the state government covering the remaining funds for worker welfare. Industry leaders had raised concerns that the bill could affect the ease of doing business.
To address this, multiple discussions were held with IT companies and decision-making bodies. The International Labour Organisation also participated in several rounds of meetings with the Labour Minister, and NASSCOM also provided inputs. The draft has incorporated some of these recommendations and is now being vetted by the department.
The Congress high command and NGOs working with the government have also reviewed it and provided feedback. During Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Karnataka, gig workers in Bengaluru shared their experiences with him. Soon after, in his 14th Budget, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the government would provide social security to gig workers.
The government said that it would fund an insurance scheme worth Rs 4 lakh — Rs 2 lakh as life insurance and Rs 2 lakh as accident insurance — for full-time and part-time delivery personnel employed by e-commerce companies such as Swiggy, Zomato, and Amazon. Ahead of the Karnataka elections in 2023, the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) had highlighted the poor working conditions of gig workers, their job instability, and the need for a comprehensive law to ensure their social and financial security. With over 2,00,000 gig workers in Bengaluru alone, workers urged political parties to address key issues such as inflation, the risks of road accidents due to tight delivery deadlines, and the lack of basic insurance for their families.
During discussions with the government, gig workers described the challenges they face daily — 12- to 14-hour workdays spent on the road, constant exposure to pollution and carbon emissions, and the high risk of accidents, financial instability, and lack of social security. “If someone works under these conditions for 10 to 15 years, imagine the toll on their health and family life," said Lad. “Business owners and stakeholders must take this seriously.
The industry must develop better models to improve working conditions, and the government is ready to support them." He pointed out that app aggregators merely provide a platform, while gig workers invest in their own vehicles, spend hours driving, and take on all the risks. “The company facilitates business, but it’s the gig worker who generates the revenue.
Who is the bigger player here? He is the backbone of this economy, yet he is the one making all the sacrifices," Lad said..
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