Karnataka Gig Workers' Bill: Nasscom says notice period for termination, data disclosures to hit operations

Nasscom suggested that the public consultation period should be extended to at least 45 working days from 10 working days for ‘meaningful’ consultation.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has flagged several provisions of a gig workers bill proposed by the Karnataka government, saying they can have an adverse impact on aggregators’ business.

The government shared the draft of the Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, on July 9. It provides a grievance redressal mechanism and also protects workers such as cab drivers and delivery persons from arbitrary termination. The bill is likely to be tabled during the monsoon session of the assembly.

"The minimum notice period for termination, algorithmic disclosures, monitoring and tracking mechanisms (Central Transaction Information and Management System), and laying down terms of template contracts with platform gig workers along with the power to review such contracts are incompatible with the functioning of gig platforms and can adversely impact their operations in the state," Nasscom said in a letter to Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Also read: Karnataka draft bill: Aggregators cannot terminate gig workers without 14-day notice

The bill proposes a parallel social security structure for gig workers, duplicating the central law – Code on Social Security, 2020, it said.

A key feature of gig workers is they are “independent contractors” and not employees because of the absence of elements like degree of control, commitment, and accountability. However, the bill does not examine these elements and instead proposes a presumption that gig workers are like employees, it said.

“This assumption is the core of the bill and, based on this, it prescribes several obligations which may be relevant only in an employer-employee relationship," Nasscom said.

Also read: Draft gig worker bill: Karnataka likely to impose per transaction fee for welfare fund

The letter said the bill has serious gaps not only from an industry perspective but also for gig workers, as it fails to state the end-use of fees/funds collected from aggregators/platforms.

“The bill does not contain safeguards to ensure the funds collected from platforms are spent in a timely manner and only for sponsoring social security schemes designed for gig platform workers in Karnataka,” it said.

Also read: Karnataka to make registration must for aggregators to hire gig workers, law in the works

The public consultation period should be extended to at least 45 working days from 10 working days for “meaningful’ consultation”, the letter said.

The government should convene a meeting of departments of labour, electronics, information technology, biotechnology and science & technology and commerce and industries. “Such a meeting should invite participation of platform businesses operating in Karnataka, industry associations, and other relevant stakeholders," it said.

Also read: Karnataka Gig Workers draft bill: Deadline for objections ends, likely to be tabled in legislative session