1.

EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL SECURITY AND SKILL

DEVELOPMENT
1.1. EMPLOYMENT

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 1.1.1. GIG ECONOMY
Why in news?
Recently, Blinkit delivery agents went on strike as a reaction to changes in their pay structure.

Major Challenges with

Gig Economy
• Unavailability of
reliable data: No
official data to clearly
estimate the extent
of gig work in India,
thereby rendering
the gig workforce
invisible.
• Poor service conditions for platform workers:
Low wages, bait-and-switch incentives, opaque Regulatory Framework of Gig Economy in India
• The Code on Wages, 2019: It provides for universal
pay calculations, commission deductions, and
minimum wage and floor wage across organized
constant monitoring on aggregator platforms. and unorganized sectors, including gig workers.
• Bound by the Terms of Contract: Due to such • Code on Social Security 2020: It seeks to protect
contracts, platform workers cannot access many gig workers’ rights by giving them social security
of the workplace protections and entitlements protections.
such as Health Insurance etc. o It attempts to define gig, platform, and
• Nascent regulatory framework: Considering it as unorganized workers while spelling out
extension of unorganized sector hinders effective entitlements.
regulation. o It also proposed to establish a Social Security
Fund and a National Social Security Board to
• Other challenges:
supervise and formulate schemes for the well-
o Limited opportunities for skill upgradation as being of gig and platform workers.
career progression in these areas is very slow.
o Unpredictable income and high risk of unclear employment status.
o Potential exploitation of workers due to the individualistic nature of gig work. Unlike traditional
employees, gig workers cannot form unions and bargain collectively.
Way Forward - Recommendations of India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy Report (NITI Aayog)
• Proper estimation of Gig Workers: E.g., through data collected by the E-Shram portal.

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 • Catalyse
Platformization: A
Platform India initiative,
built on the pillars of
Simplification, Funding,
Skill Development, and
Financial Inclusion, may
be introduced.
o On similar lines to
Stand-up India.
• Accelerate Financial
Inclusion by leveraging
FinTech and platform
businesses.
• Skill Development with
creation of potential
“Skill Certificates” to
further increase the
employability of
workers.
• Special emphasis on access to formal credit for women, PwDs, or platform businesses started in small
cities, towns, and villages in India.

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 1.2. LABOUR LAW REFORMS

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 1.3. INSURANCE SECTOR

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