Govt to set up panel for social-security blueprint for gig workers

The size of India’s gig economy is estimated to potentially touch $455 billion, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 17%

The Union labour ministry has announced the setting up of an experts’ committee to recommend a social-security framework for gig workers amid a wider push to bring them into the fold of unorganised workforce by registering them on a national portal.

The committee will hold discussions with all stakeholders in the gig economy. (Representative file photo)

The committee will hold discussions with all stakeholders in the gig economy to recommend an “inclusive social-security framework and policies to address the unique needs of gig workers”, labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday.

The size of India’s gig economy is estimated to potentially touch $455 billion, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 17%, according to a recent Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India report.

There is still a lack of hard data on business and employment generated by a broad range of platform services, ranging from ride-hailing apps, such as Uber and Ola, to food-delivery applications, including Swiggy and Zomato.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the labour minister asked representatives of platforms to speedily enroll gig workers associated with their businesses in the government’s e-Shram portal, a national database of informal workers that has 300 million members.

Once registered on the portal, workers will be given a universal account number or UAN, with which they can access welfare schemes of the government, such as health insurance and free portable rations at their place of work.

Platform-based firms who participated in the meeting include Urban Company, Swiggy and Instamart, Zomato and Blinkit, Porter, Even Cargo, Amazon, Uber, Ola.

“They have expressed strong support for the government’s initiatives,” an official said.

At the meeting, the government also set targets for platforms to onboard workers on the e-Shram portal to be achieved in the next three months.

Mandaviya told platforms that workers’ registration was crucial to extend further benefits under various government initiatives. The minister also urged platforms to list their job vacancies on the state-run National Career Service portal, which provides a variety of employment-related services for jobseekers and employers.