On Monday, Rajasthan became the first state in the nation to enact legislation providing platform-based gig workers with access to social security. The Assembly of the state of Rajasthan approved the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill without discussion.
Following charges made in the “red diary” by dismissed minister Rajendra Singh Gudha against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Labour Minister Sukhram Vishnoi introduced the Bill amid a stalemate in the legislature. The “progressive” legislation, in the words of social activist Nikhil Dey, is “one giant leap for the rights of gig workers around the world.” During Congressman Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan in December 2022, Dey proposed the proposal. Gehlot was then pushed by Rahul Gandhi to provide social security and a support mechanism for gig workers.
What regulations apply to gig workers?
According to a report by The Indian Express, the Bill gives gig workers access to certain “rights” including being registered with the government, participating in both general and particular social security programs, and having a chance to have any complaints addressed.
Along with the appointment of bureaucrats, the bill also calls for the creation of a Platform Based Gig Workers Welfare Board, which will be composed of two members each from aggregators and gig workers. The state labor minister will serve as the board’s chair, and it will convene once every six months.
Additionally, it suggests establishing a fund for the employees’ social security and welfare. The “welfare cess” that aggregators will put in the bill they send to clients will provide the funding for the fund.
Gehlot had remarked in February while proposing the Bill, “Like elsewhere in the world, the scope of ‘gig economy’ is continuously growing in the state.” “Today, there are between 3 and 4 lakh gig workers in the state. These large corporations do not provide any social security plans for these gig employees, he said.
All gig workers and aggregators in the state are also intended to be registered under the statute. The state government will create an individual ID for each gig worker and keep a database of them.
The state government may levy a punishment that may go up to Rs 5 lakh for the first violation and up to Rs 50 lakh for consecutive contraventions if any aggregator violates the act’s or regulations’ requirements.
Which other states have a comparable legislation on the table?
According to reports, Congressman Rahul Gandhi pressured Karnataka officials to pass a similar regulation for gig workers in the state. Karnataka is now governed by the Congress. Before the Karnataka elections, the state government said that gig workers would get a 4 lakh rupee accident and life insurance policy, for which it would pay the whole yearly fee. The cover is “social security to the gig workers in the unorganized sector,” according to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.
A similar welfare board to the one in Rajasthan was also announced by the Congress in Karnataka, along with an allocation of Rs 3,000 crore for a start-up revolving fund.
