OPINION | Gig workers call New Year shutdown, demand fairer working conditions

The past few years have witnessed the exponential growth of the platform economy in India,

A strike planned by gig workers operating on certain online delivery platforms on 31 December 2025 is designed to draw attention to their cause. Their demands include better working conditions, such as a ban on 10-minute delivery, and transparency in the algorithmic controls that manage and monitor their activities.

Growth of the Platform Economy in India

The past few years have witnessed the exponential growth of the platform economy in India, with digitalisation facilitating the technological transformation of economic activities. This includes transportation, food delivery, home-delivered professional services, and e-commerce. This has led to the emergence of an app-based economy, with gig and platform workers forming a growing workforce. While gig workers are freelancers and delivery partners working independently, platform workers are gig workers operating on online platforms.

Legal Recognition of Gig and Platform Workers

The recently notified 'Code on Social Security 2020' defines both gig and platform work as arrangements "outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship". Estimated to number more than 12.7 million, gig and platform workers are expected to increase to 23.5 million by 2029-30 (NITI Aayog, 2024-25). The recently released NCAER 2025 report on the impact of food delivery platforms on the Indian economy estimated that the food delivery sector alone employed 1.4 million platform workers in 2023-24.

Challenges in Measuring Platform Work

Location-based platform work is often used to supplement incomes, including by students. Monthly earnings vary depending on the service delivered and the number of hours worked. For instance, workers on ride-sharing apps are entitled to a larger share of the earnings if they also own the vehicle. However, on food delivery apps, workers typically earn less. Data on the total number engaged in platform work is difficult to estimate, as people often work across multiple platforms, and there is no single, complete repository of platform workers in the country.

Government Initiatives for Platform Workers

In December 2024, the Ministry of Labour and Employment launched an aggregator module on E-Shram to encourage the registration of platform workers in this national database of unorganised workers. In the Union Budget 2025-26, the government announced that all platform workers would be facilitated to register on E-Shram, receive identity cards, and nearly 10 million of them would be provided healthcare facilities under the Prime Minister's Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). This initiative gained further momentum with the notification of the Codes in November 2025, which mandates that aggregators now register platform workers on E-Shram, creating the first-ever national repository of platform workers in India.

The Debate on Worker Classification and Regulation

The debate on whether platform workers should be treated as full-time employees and be paid a minimum wage, as well as whether more regulation of platform work is necessary, remains ongoing. Given that online apps, including location-based delivery platforms, have emerged as major job creators, particularly for youth in India, the issue is complex. The key challenge is to ensure decent working conditions for platform workers without over-regulation that could constrain this growing economic sector.

Social Security and Skilling for Platform Workers

For countries with a youth dividend, such as India and others in the Global South, employment opportunities in platform work are crucial, especially considering the low entry barriers in delivery services. This provides an option for youth who may not be highly skilled in other professions. Making social security, as well as opportunities for skilling, accessible through E-Shram over the near future is important for platform workers to transition into more stable professions.

As the 'Code on Social Security' is implemented over the next few months, the proposed National Social Security Board will recommend suitable social security schemes for gig and platform workers. The board will be tasked with developing a social welfare framework that addresses the concerns of platform workers, as well as advising on matters such as a grievance redressal system and transparent algorithmic controls that ensure fairness for workers while maintaining the performance and efficiency of services.

(Sumita Dawra, Former Labour Secretary to Govt of India.)

Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication.