Time for a reformation

Platform-based gig economy has to undergo labour reforms in order to ensure a fair working atmosphere for its workers.

- DR SUMANTA DUTTA

Worldwide, businesses are hiring more and more temporary or contingent workforce to meet their labour requirements. Temporary workers, including platform workers are a cheaper alternative to regular employees, alongside being easier to ‘hire and fire’. Thus businesses are exploiting this opportunity to enlist thousands of workers under the nonstandard employment forms to avoid costs and shrug-off the other responsibilities. The scarcity and ambiguity of laws regarding gig workers have resulted into their widespread exploitation across the globe. Hundreds of thousands of workers around the world currently work in a non-standardised employment form, and a significant number of them is engaged in platform work.

Before we delve into the topics of leadership in gig economy, let us understand the concept of gig economy, and the laws vis-à-vis the so called gig/platform economy. Ever wondered how the Swiggy delivery boy make money? Who owns the motorcycle when you booked a Rapido ride? Or how Urban Company functions? These are all examples of the gig economy.