The state government of Rajasthan passed a law to assist gig workers to help better cope in times of distress on July 24.
The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act 2023 establishes a Welfare Board and social security fund for gig workers in the state who mainly work in food delivery and transportation services.
In addition to state grants, these funds will be financed through new taxes that are imposed on every transaction made on platform service providers such as Uber, who on average are gig workers. The funds will be used by the state government to run a social security scheme for around 400,000 platform-based workers in Rajasthan.
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It is India’s first law dedicated to the welfare of gigging workers as well as an attempt by Rajasthan’s ruling Congress party to adjust to such workers ahead of elections in December.
In early this August, Karnataka which is also regulated by Congress also announced free accident and life insurance worth 400,000 rupees for performance workers. The state government will pay an annual premium for this coverage.
According to the new rules, a Welfare Council consisting of representatives from the government, gig workers organizations and platform service providers, has been tasked with overseeing the social security scheme formulated by the state and monitoring the implementation of the Act to ensure gig workers have access.
The new law in Rajasthan is also considering fines for violators. Any aggregator that fails to comply with its terms must pay up to 500,000 rupees for the first breach and up to 5 million rupees for each subsequent breach.
Platform service providers in India, some of which already provide accident and health insurance for their workers, have yet to react publicly to the new law.
Source: The Straits Time
