As the nation celebrated its 76th Independence Day this month, it is noteworthy how lakhs of people have become financially independent over the last couple of years owing to the gig economy.

A couple of months ago, the NITI Aayog released a report titled, ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’. The report rightly argued that the gig economy was at its resilient best during the Covid-19 induced lockdowns. Thanks to the gig workers, many citizens in the urban areas managed to get essential supplies in the safety of their homes. Nevertheless, this spurt in gig work must be viewed with caution.

The NITI Aayog report suggested gig work could help transcend the space and time constraints that normally affect employer-employee relationships. It offers choices to employees and opportunities for many disadvantaged groups like differentially abled individuals and women to enter the workforce.

The report estimates that while in 2020-21, 77 lakh workers were engaged in the gig economy, it is likely to increase to 2.35 crores by 2029-30. In other words, while the gig workers comprised 1.5 pre cent of the total workforce in India in 2020-21, they may account for 4.1 per cent of the total livelihood in India by 2029-30.

In terms of sectors, many non-agricultural gig workers are employed in the retail trade and sales (around 27 lakh) and transportation sector (approximately 13 lakh). Moreover, the report estimated that the above sectors had registered a significant addition of workers between 2011-12 and 2019-20. Even the education sector has seen a 51 per cent increase in gig work.

While there is a staggering rise in gig employment, it has the potential to enhance exploitation in the garb of employment. There two reasons why this could happen.

The flip side

First, gig work may enhance the commodification of labour. In a regular employee-employer relationship, the organisations emphasise that employees be committed through productive and prolonged contribution. In reciprocation, they too express their commitment to the employees by providing opportunities for learning and development, protecting their selves (such as anti-sexual harassment policies), caring for their dependent families (such as maternity benefits), and having flexible work arrangements (such as work-from-home policies).

In summary, organisations are no different from the larger society that they exist in, only more purposeful. People are as valued for their potential as for performance.

In the case of gig workers, the skill is all that is valued. Further, in the absence of a ‘workspace,’ the person holding the skill remains invisible to the ‘employer’. In the context of the platform economy, they are usually numericised and dehumanised. Because gig workers ‘lose jobs’ many times a day, they are treated as expendable. Hence, there is hardly any motivation for the platform owner to invest in their learning or career development. It is plain monetisation of skills with little interest from organisations to explore and further the workers’ potential.

Over time, monotonous work with little learning, limited security, and the absence of any rise in the organisational and social hierarchy can lead to acute frustration. Moreover, without legal support to form unions, there is little that the workers can do to negotiate wages and working conditions. Eventually, they feel exploited.

Second, gig work enhances helplessness in workers. Surprisingly, the labour codes did not feel it necessary to strengthen the gig workers. Instead, some labour codes exclude them entirely, reinforcing their humble status in the country.

The gig workers are only protected under the Social Security Code, 2020, yet it is too little. Such workers in transport and last mile retail and trade services work in very precarious conditions. Researchers have estimated that many of them spend 10-15 hours logged in to their devices and on roads, bringing forth many health concerns.

The gig workers, especially in the personal care sector, often report behavioural misconduct at the client locations. However, the lack of proper definition of “workplace” or “workplace safety norms” often reduces the need for “decency” to insignificance.

Moreover, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group, 78 per cent of gig workers earn less than ₹20,000 per month. So, it is surprising that workers are also excluded from the Code of Wages, 2019 and the Industrial Relations Code 2020, which is in direct violation of ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Hence, the protective embrace of the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 must be extended to them.

Pati and Ray are on the faculty of IIM, Kozhikode