SET SOCIAL SECURITY BALL ROLLING FOR INFORMAL AND GIG WORKERS

IN India, we have two categories of employees: formal and informal. Formal employees are covered by social security norms and paid regular monthly salaries, leave encashment and bonuses, apart from other benefits. According to the National Survey Organisation's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), formal accounts for 9% of all workers (half in government bodies and the remainder in the private sector). The remaining 91% are informal and don't receive social security benefits. Formal workers usually work till the retirement age of 60 and get a gratuity when they retire, provided they have worked in an organisation for over five years.

- SANTOSH MEHROTRA

PLFS defines workers as three types: the self-employed (who could be own-account workers or unpaid family labour) and two types of wage workers: regular and casual (daily) wage. A small share of regular wage workers enjoys social security benefits, while a majority of the self-employed, casual wage earners, and regular wage workers do not.

Covid and the digital advancements have given rise to a new term: gig worker. They are neither employees nor employers. They are paid based on the services they render. They are not supported by social security.

Gig workers are usually freelancers who engage in hourly or temporary work, have a non-traditional employer-employee relationship, and could be considered self-employed (though there is a debate around this). The self-employed in developing countries, including India, account for around half of all workers; of the remaining half in India, a quarter each are casual and regular wage workers.