New Delhi: Around 85 percent of gig workers, largely in the 30-50 age group, put in eight or more hours of work daily, as these jobs are their main source of income and not a side hustle, according to a survey report released Thursday by Janpahal, a Delhi-based non-profit working with people engaged in the informal sector.
The report defines gig work as “platform-based work” and the survey looked at such workers in the transport, food delivery and package delivery sectors.
According to government think-tank NITI Aayog, 77 lakh (7.7 million) workers were engaged in the gig economy in 2020-21 and the workforce is expected to “expand to 2.35 crore (23.5 million) workers by 2029-30”.
Janpahal’s nationwide survey of 5,220 gig workers engaged with 20-plus digital platforms was carried out in 23 cities (tiers 1 to 3) last year to understand their perception of the job and issues faced by them. Of the total gig workers surveyed, just 2.3 percent were women.
Long hours, urgency to meet delivery targets, carrying excess weight, lack of regular income and the lack of social security such as health insurance all take a toll on their physical and mental wellbeing, the survey — titled ‘Respect and Integrity of Gig Workers; Humanity and Trust in Service (RIGHTS)’ — has found.
The survey report emphasises the need for a regulatory framework to provide social security, ensure gig workers’ safety and address issues related to income.
“We found that 57 percent of the people have been working for two to five years. A large percentage of people, close to 80 percent, who have been working for five or more years, are in the 31-and-above age group and put in long hours. This clearly shows that it is not gig work — it is a proper job. People are dependent on it for their livelihood and for this they have no option but to meet the targets,” Vandana Vasudevan, lead author of the report, said at the report release event in Delhi.
According to the survey report, 33 percent of gig workers who have been working for more than five years were in the 41-50 age group and 44 percent were in the 31-40 age group.
“Not only are older workers entering the platform economy, but they are also staying longer, possibly because it is harder to find other jobs as age increases,” said the report.
With the gig economy expanding rapidly, especially after the Covid pandemic, the average monthly income has gone down considerably due to more people joining the informal sector.
“There is more competition now, due to which the average monthly income of gig workers is less than what it used to be 5-10 years ago. After deductions for vehicle loans, maintenance, and fuel, the net income earned every month is around Rs 15,000-20,000 in most cases. There is a need to have a framework in place to ensure that they get minimum wages or a share in profits,” Muhammed Mukhtar Alam, co-author and member of Janpahal, told ThePrint.
As it is the main source of livelihood for the majority of gig workers, they have no option but to meet the requirements, especially delivery targets, of the digital platform they work for.
According to the Janpahal survey, a large percentage of workers admitted that they speed on the road to ensure timely delivery of goods or food items.
“About 87 percent of respondents agreed that speeding to meet delivery targets was the main reason they felt the job was not safe. Although food delivery companies issue statements that they do not penalise their partners for delays, the delivery worker is invariably speeding because he cannot afford to be late,” the report said.
The workers also flagged concerns about their safety while they are out for delivery. The present work setup, clubbed with lack of social security schemes and affects their health and mental wellbeing, according to the report.
“Almost 99 percent of workers cited health concerns and mental health issues such as depression, stress etc.,” said Vasudevan.
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Regulatory framework is need of the hour, say experts
With the gig economy expanding rapidly, experts say there is a need to have a regulatory framework and also provide social security to such workers.
In 2020, Parliament passed three labour codes — on industrial relations, occupational safety, health and working conditions, and social security — proposing to simplify the country’s labour laws. For the first time, the social security code included “gig workers”, and platform workers were brought under the social security net.
Last year, Rajasthan became the first state in the country to ensure social security to lakhs of gig workers when the then Congress-led government passed the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023.
Experts say there is a need for a regulatory framework, especially to ensure minimum wages.
Aravind Unni, an expert on the informal sector, said, “In spite of more than an estimated 1 crore gig workers in India and a space that will increase in the times to come, there are no regulatory frameworks that talk about wages, security, protection, insurance, and so on. I think at this stage the debate for most of the workers is not about wages, but predictability, protection and security of work.”
“Only laws that will create an enabling framework for workers will help in that. Similar to efforts in Rajasthan, we should have laws to protect and regulate gig workers. Setting up welfare boards for workers is the best way forward, as they will further the cause of workers and ensure their welfare in the times to come,” he added.
Nikhil Dey, co-founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, said: “The Rajasthan legislation was the first step towards providing social security to platform-based workers. But there is a crying need for regulations, especially for wages and working conditions.”
The Janpahal report highlights the ambiguous status of gig workers, as they neither receive benefits as informal sector workers do, nor do they have much say in the work as “partners” (gig workers are called partners by platform-based organisations).
“There is a need to streamline the way this sector operates. There is ambiguity about the status of these workers. They neither get benefits like minimum wages, insurance etc. like other workers in the informal sector nor can assert their rights as partners and demand for a share in the profits. They are not covered under the existing labour laws,” said Dharmendra Kumar, secretary at Janpahal.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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