Planning Social Security Cover For Gig Workers

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's mention of online platform workers' welfare in her budget speech has brought cheers to this new-age workforce as well as policymakers.

- PRADEEP KUMAR JENA

The FM made two announcements on the subject: first, that gig workers will be provided health insurance under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana; and second, such workers will be issued identity cards through the e-Shram portal, which is expected to benefit 1 crore workers.

The announcements couldn't have come at a better time, given the increasing precarity and insecurity of such workers reported in recent months. Let me put this in perspective with the progress already made on this front.

This workforce, which has emerged in recent years all over the world, is there in almost every sector of the gig economy—food delivery, ride-hailing, e-commerce and other professional services. Unlike traditional work, which has stringent entry barriers with defined work hours and payment structures, platform-based gig work is characterized by independent contracting with flexible hours and performance-linked remuneration.

About a century ago, John Maynard Keynes had predicted three-hour shifts or 15-hour work weeks in his pivotal essay, 'The Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren'. Many western countries are shifting towards this trend. India is way behind; but the gig model at least provides a flexibility to break away from the traditional model, a state of 'liquid modernity', as sociologist Zygmunt Bauman called a society characterized by flexibility, uncertainty and continuous transformation.