|
Dear Reader,
The 30th edition of Spotlight provides a snapshot of The Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill 2024. It highlights the key provisions of the bill, its shortcomings and comparison with the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023.
We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions!
|
|
|
Karnataka's Gig Workers Bill: A Step Forward or Falling Short?
The Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, was released by the Labour Department of Karnataka on June 29, 2024. This draft bill aimed to enhance the rights and protections of platform-based gig workers by establishing a regulatory framework for their welfare, social security, and occupational safety.
|
|
|
The bill's primary objective is to safeguard the rights and welfare of gig workers by implementing robust social security measures and establishing clear responsibilities for aggregators (platforms). This aims to address the growing concerns regarding gig workers' working conditions, ensure they have access to social security benefits, and provide a mechanism for grievance redressal.
|
|
|
|
Introduction
Woodcock and Graham define the gig economy as labour markets reliant on independent contracting through digital platforms, offering non-permanent, casual work with limited job security and career development. It includes both location-specific and remote, cloud-based work. A ‘gig’ worker is an individual employed transactionally in a time or task-based manner, having the flexibility to choose their work hours.
|
|
Gig and platform work, a relatively new phenomenon in the world of work, has its own challenges and suffers from the lack of well-developed policy, legislation and regulatory frameworks in India. However, the recent developments, such as the Social Security Code of 2020 and other state-level policies, such as Rajasthan and Karnataka’s platform-based gig workers’ bill, point to the emergence of initial regulatory and policy thinking on the issues of labour protection, social security and employment conditions in the gig and platform economy.
Key Provisions of the Bill
- Welfare Board Establishment: A Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers Welfare Board will be established to oversee the welfare of gig workers. This board will register gig workers, collect welfare fees, and ensure compliance with social security schemes, aiming to enhance the overall welfare of platform-based gig workers.
- Registration and Unique Identification: Aggregators must register with the Welfare Board and submit data on all gig workers within 60 days of the bill’s enactment. Each gig worker will be issued a unique ID to track and manage their employment records, ensuring better oversight and organisation.
- Welfare Fees and Fund Creation: A welfare fund will be established, funded through fees collected from aggregators and contributions from gig workers. Aggregators must contribute a percentage of each transaction involving gig workers to the fund quarterly.
- Grievance Redressal Mechanism: Gig workers can file grievances through designated officers or online platforms. Aggregators with over 50 gig workers must establish internal committees to ensure dispute resolution.
- Social Security: Rajasthan’s bill outlines a contribution-based social security fund, whereas Karnataka highlights specific benefits like life insurance and pensions.
- Grievance Mechanisms: Rajasthan’s Act focuses more on worker welfare management, while Karnataka mandates a grievance committee for aggregators with over 50 workers.
- Contributions to Welfare Fund: Rajasthan mandates a fixed aggregator contribution per transaction to the welfare fund, while Karnataka offers flexible, insurance-linked contributions involving both aggregators and workers, potentially supplemented by government subsidies.
|
- Transparency in Contracts: Aggregators must use clear, comprehensible language in contracts, with written notices provided for any changes or terminations. Information about work allocation, assessment criteria, and personal data handling must also be disclosed.
- Penalties for Non-Compliance: Aggregators will be subject to substantial fines for violations, including penalties for continued contraventions.
Comparison With Rajasthan’s Gig Workers Bill
- Transparency: Rajasthan’s Act emphasises transparent contracts with clear terms on data, work allocation, and assessment, while Karnataka goes further by granting gig workers the right to collective bargaining for improved conditions, wages, and benefits.
- Government Involvement: While the Gig Workers Welfare Board of Rajasthan limits government intervention to compliance and benefits, Karnataka's bill pushes for deeper state regulation to align gig workers' rights with broader labour laws.
Shortcomings of Karnataka’s Bi
|
|
|
|
