Fair representation, transparent contracts: Gig workers' suggestions on Karnataka draft bill
The Karnataka government released the draft Platform Based Gig workers bill on 8th July, which is likely to be tabled during the monsoon session.
Multiple organizations along with the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy on Tuesday submitted suggestions for improvement to the Karnataka government for the draft Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024.
The joint submission was done by 16 organisations and individuals and called for the inclusion of platform workers representatives, including women, on the Gig Workers Tripartite Welfare Board.
The submission asked for tighter norms for registration, recommending “automatic registration of platform-based gig workers, as soon as they are onboarded onto any platform, irrespective of how long they are engaged in the platform, on the basis of which the Welfare Board shall register and generate a unique ID to every platform based gig worker.”
The draft submission called for fair contracts between the aggregators and gig workers which provides clarity to workers regarding what amounts will be deducted from their pay in each transaction, or in terms of subscription basis what amounts will be charged by the aggregator and for what purposes.
“On income security for platform-based gig workers, we have suggested that the state government may, by rules, prescribe the minimum percentage of each transaction that should accrue to the platform-based gig worker as payment for each work assignment,” said Shaik Salauddin National General Secretary of IFAT.
The draft submission also proposed a welfare fee for the gig workers, which should be levied on the payout made to the gig worker in every transaction and covered either by the aggregator or customer on the platform.
According to the state labour department, the bill aims " to protect the rights of platform-based Gig workers, to place obligations on aggregators in relation to social security, occupational health and safety, transparency in automated monitoring and decision-making systems and to provide dispute resolution mechanisms." The proposed welfare board will comprise of government officials, two officials from aggregators, two Gig workers and a state-nominated civil society member.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan