NHRC organises open house discussion on the rights of gig workers
Regulatory frameworks needed to address the challenges faced by gig workers, says NHRC, India Acting Chairperson, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani
NHRC Secretary General, Bharat Lal emphasises the implementation of
various laws and the Social Security Code 2020 to ensure gig workers welfare
Ensuring minimum wage enforcement and income transparency at aggregator levels
to bridge gender disparities stressed
Among various other suggestions, review of arbitrary rating system of gig
workers service without providing any opportunity of hearing to them highlighted
General and specific welfare schemes by aggregators, including health benefits,
accident insurance, old-age protection, and unemployment safeguards in case of
accidents also suggested
The National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India organised an open house discussion on the
rights of gig workers in hybrid mode at New Delhi. In her keynote address,
NHRC, India Acting Chairperson, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani said that there is a
need for targeted efforts through regulatory frame works to address gig
worker’s challenges, including long working hours, financial strain, and
physical exhaustion. She said that over 83% of app-based drivers work more than
10 hours daily. This puts them under the physical and mental strain added by
policies like "10-minute deliveries and unrealistic targets which also
result in avoidable accidents. Women face additional challenges such as safety
risks, erratic schedules, and physical demands, discouraging their
participation and raising concerns about their well-being.
Before this,
triggering the discussions, the NHRC, India Secretary General, Bharat Lal said
that it is crucial to check the implementation of laws such as the Social
Security Code 2020 and the various other labour laws in India to ensure Gig
Workers welfare. He also noted that some states like Karnataka, Rajasthan and
Jharkhand are focusing on providing social security to gig workers but more
needs to be done to address their other major concerns relating to health
insurance, minimum wages, stress-free working conditions protecting their
dignity.
The
discussions were held in three technical sessions – ‘Informality of the Gig
workers’ social security benefits and their legal ambiguity’, ‘Deprivation of
health, mental health, safety and security of gig workers’ and ‘Gender
disparity and financial instability for women gig workers’.
Some of the
suggestions emanated from the discussions included:
• There is a need for targeted efforts and regulatory
frameworks to address the challenges faced by gig workers including long
working hours, financial strain, and physical exhaustion;
• All the Companies engaging should provide general and specific welfare
schemes, including health benefits, accident insurance, old-age protection, and
unemployment safeguards in case of accidents etc;
• Support women gig workers with maternity benefits, crèche facilities, and the
establishment of rest points through public-private partnerships;
• Explore and expand the e-Shram portal as a valuable tool in aiding gig
workers;
• Set up a grievance redressal mechanism, particularly for women gig workers
and build awareness around POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) policies to
ensure a safer work environment;
• Build financial literacy of gig workers to promote transparency besides
providing opportunities to upscale their skills through vocational training
programmes;
• Ensure minimum wage enforcement and income transparency in all sectors
engaging gig workers by the aggregators to bridge gender disparities;
• Develop schemes addressing the risks posed by climate challenge and ensure
worker safety during extreme weather conditions by the employing companies;
• Review rating system of gig workers service which is arbitrary without
providing any forum to them to hear the Gig workers’ point of view.
The
participants included NHRC, India Registrar (Law), Joginder Singh, Joint
Secretary, Devendra Kumar Nim, Dr K Rajeswara Rao, Former Special Secretary,
NITI Aayog, Nikhil MR, Assistant Labour Commissioner Labour Department
Government of Karnatata, OP Sarhan, Joint Secretary and Additional Labour
Commissioner, Labour Department, Government of Rajasthan, Dr Vinay Kumar
Chauhan, Managing Director National Labour Cooperative Federation of India Ltd,
Bhavya Sharma, Director of Corporate Communication and ESG at Urban Company, Akash
Gupta, Co-founder & CEO, Zypp Electric, Tannaz Ahmed, Manager – Public
Policy, Zypp Electric, Prashant Kumar, Senior Head - Public Policy Ola
Electric, Rohit Kumar, General Counsel, Ola electric, Shaik Salauddin,
President-TGPWU IFAT-NGS, Ms Nadiya Sarguroh, Associate Partner, MZM Legal LLP,
Swapnil Srivastava, Senior Associate MZM Legal LLP, Harish Chander, Deputy
Director, NCVET, Dr Dhanya, MB Faculty, VV Giri National Labour Institute and Rahul
Jain, Head-HR Big Basket.