India plans social security for gig workers, setting minimum work-day rules, Aadhaar-based registration, and benefits like insurance and healthcare, while defining eligibility limits under the new Social Security Code.
The government has proposed draft rules for the social security of gig workers formulated under the new Social Security Code. As per the report in TOI, gig and platform workers need to be employed for a period of at least 90 days in a financial year with an aggregator to be eligible to avail the social security benefits. If a gig worker is engaged with multiple aggregators this period is 120 days, the proposal said.
As per the report, the rules treat any worker as employed from the day he/she starts earning irrespective of the amount. If a worker is linked to more than one aggregator, their workdays will be added up across all platforms. For instance, working with three aggregators on the same day will be counted as three days of work, the draft said.
The rules also specify that all gig workers – whether hired directly by an aggregator or through subsidiaries or associate companies or or limited liability partnership or through a third party – they are all eligible for social security benefits.
The new labour codes require the government to provide social security benefits such as health, life and accident insurance for gig and platform workers, along with any other schemes it may introduce in the future.
The labour ministry has already begun registering gig workers on the e-Shram portal, and registered workers will be covered under the Ayushman Bharat health scheme. In the future, they may also become eligible for a pension, based on contributions from both the platforms they work for and the workers themselves.
Under the proposed rules, all gig workers above the age of 16 must register using an Aadhaar-linked process. Each aggregator will be required to share details of its gig and platform workers on a central government portal so that a universal account number can be generated, unless the worker is already registered. Every eligible worker will also be issued an identity card, either digital or physical.