Along with flexible employment, social security will also have to be ensured.
In a changing economy, employment patterns are rapidly changing. Digital technology and internet-based services have challenged traditional ways of working. Today, individuals can earn a living by delivering food through mobile apps, driving online taxis, delivering goods, providing domestic services, or doing freelance digital work. This form of employment is called the gig economy, and those working in it are identified as gig workers. The most significant characteristic of these workers is that they can choose work according to their convenience and availability, but this flexibility is accompanied by insecurity in their livelihoods. Unlike regular employees, they generally lack access to benefits such as salary, provident fund, pension, medical care, and paid leave. Therefore, social security for gig workers is no longer merely a matter of labor welfare, but has become an essential prerequisite for inclusive development and economic justice.
The expansion of the digital economy in India has given new impetus to gig employment. According to a NITI Aayog report, the number of gig workers in the country is projected to reach approximately 23.5 million by 2029-30. This number indicates that this sector of employment is poised to become a significant part of the Indian economy in the future. Millions of people working in food supply, transportation, e-commerce, domestic services, and various digital platforms are driving economic activity in cities. Despite this, their social and economic status remains relatively vulnerable. A delivery worker involved in a road accident can immediately lose their income. Missing work for several days due to illness makes it difficult to support their families. Women face challenges such as maternity leave and income continuity. The lack of a regular pension in old age further increases their worries.
The fundamental purpose of social security is to provide financial support to workers in the uncertain circumstances of life. This becomes even more important for gig workers, as their income depends on the availability of work, customer demand, weather, platform policies, and incentive schemes. Changes in payment rates or reductions in incentives by platforms often impact their actual income. In such circumstances, benefits like accident insurance, life insurance, health coverage, maternity benefits, and old-age pensions can protect them from financial crisis. Social security benefits are not limited to the worker, but provide protection to their entire family. This also helps reduce poverty, inequality, and economic instability.
Keeping this need in mind, gig workers and platform workers have been recognized as a separate category in the Social Security Code, 2020. This Code provides for the formulation and implementation of social security schemes for them. Institutional arrangements like the National Social Security Board aim to coordinate between workers, aggregators, and the government and determine the direction of welfare schemes. The provision for the participation of various stakeholders in the 22-member National Social Security Board is an important step in this direction. It is essential to ensure that such boards do not merely become institutions that recommend schemes, but also understand the real problems of workers and become effective means of resolving them.
The role of these boards is important on several levels. First, they can contribute to the formulation and prioritization of social security schemes. Second, they can oversee the expansion of benefits such as life insurance, accident insurance, disability assistance, maternity benefits, and old-age security. Third, they can ensure accountability by reviewing the expenditure on schemes and their implementation. Fourth, they can help develop a system to ensure that a worker’s social security benefits are not lost when they move from one digital platform to another or work from one state to another.
The e-Shram portal can be an important tool in this direction. Aadhaar-linked registration can facilitate the identification of workers and their access to welfare benefits. However, mere registration is not enough. Real success will be achieved when registered workers also receive timely payments of accident assistance, insurance, health services, and other prescribed benefits. To achieve this, the digital system must be simplified, transparent, and worker-friendly.
However, this system faces several serious challenges. The most significant problem is the ambiguity of employment relationships. Gig workers are often treated as independent partners or service providers, while their working conditions, payment, task allocation, and performance evaluation are controlled by digital platforms. This makes it difficult to determine who is responsible for social security. Another problem is the gap between plans and actual benefits. Many workers are unaware of the plans, and the registration and claim process is complex for some. The third challenge is worker representation. Without their actual participation in policy decisions, the plans will not be tailored to the needs on the ground.
The availability of financial resources is also a major issue. The Social Security Code provides for contributions from aggregators, limiting their annual turnover to one to two percent, but not exceeding five percent of the total amount paid to workers. This system aims to create a sustainable financial foundation for social security. However, transparency in the calculation, collection, and use of contributions is essential. It must also be ensured that the financial burden is not indirectly transferred to workers’ incomes.
The way forward is clear. The central and state governments must work together to ensure effective implementation of social security schemes. Simple registration of each gig worker, portable benefits across multiple platforms, regular social security audits, and effective grievance redressal mechanisms must be developed. Special attention should be paid to maternity assistance and safe working conditions, taking into account the specific needs of women workers. Furthermore, genuine and adequate participation of worker representatives on social security boards must be ensured.
The gig economy is India’s new economic reality. It should be viewed as an opportunity for job creation and entrepreneurship, but simply increasing employment opportunities is not enough. Development will be meaningful only when the lives of the workers who drive that growth are also secure and dignified. The benefits of technological and market advancements must reach workers. Social security boards can be an important bridge in this direction. Their role must not be limited to paper recommendations, but rather ensure that the benefits of schemes reach the last worker. Flexible employment can increase workers’ independence, but in the absence of social security, this independence turns into economic insecurity. Therefore, the need of the hour is to recognize gig workers not just as part of the digital economy, but as workers with rights and dignity.
