BigBasket tops Fairwork India Ratings 2023; Ola, Porter score zero points

Digital platforms Ola and Porter have scored the lowest in terms of working conditions of gig workers on digital labour platforms, in a rating that was topped by Tata-owned Bigbasket, according to a report.

The Fairwork India Ratings 2023: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy report evaluated 12 platforms offering location-based services in sectors such as domestic and personal care, logistics, food delivery, and transportation, in India.

The Fairwork India Ratings 2023 scores 12 platforms, including Amazon Flex, BigBasket, BluSmart, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto, and Zomato.

"This year, no platform scored more than six out of the maximum of ten points, and none scored all the first points across the five principles," the report said.

BigBasket scored the most six out of 10, followed by BluSmart, Swiggy, Urban Company and Zomato each scoring five out of 10, Zepto (4/10), Flipkart (3/10), Amazon Flex (2/10), Dunzo and Uber (1/10). While Ola and Porter scored nil.

Fairwork assessed platforms against five principles: Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management, and Fair Representation.

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Each principle is broken down into two points: a first point and a second point that can only be awarded if the first point has been fulfilled. Every platform receives a score out of 10.

"In a year that has seen the formulation of a significant regulation based on inputs from workers, [The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023]...

"we hope that highlighting the experiences of workers will point to the structural changes that platforms, consumers and the state alike will need to undertake if the platform economy is to offer its workers decent work," said Balaji Parthasarathy and Janaki Srinivasan, the Principal Investigators of the team, along with researchers Mounika Neerukonda, Bilahari M, Aditya Singh, Raktima Kalita and Meghashree Balaraj.

BigBasket, Flipkart, and Urban Company were the only platforms with a minimum wage policy to ensure that all their workers earn at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs, the report said.

The Fairwork India Team was spearheaded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP), International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), in association with Oxford University.