Telangana Gig Workers Bill seeks to regulate gig and platform work, and is similar to those passed by four other states: Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Bihar.
- Telangana Bill provides for constitution of a special welfare board, government levy on aggregators, unique ID for gig workers and penalties for non-compliance.
About Gig Workers
- Defined by Code on Social Security 2020, Gig worker is a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship.
- Scale: Gig workers increased from 77 lakh workers in FY21 to 120 lakh workers in FY25, representing over 2% of India’s total workforce.
- Challenges: Income and job volatility, challenging in accessing credit, financial inclusion, algorithmic biases, lack of social security, safety concerns etc.
- Code on Social Security 2020: It provides a formal recognition to Gig workers and Platform workers.
- Aggregators are required to contribute 1-2% of their annual turnover (capped at 5% of payments made or payable to gig/platform workers) to a Social Security Fund.
- The fund finances a range of welfare schemes for these workers.
- Each worker will receive a unique Aadhaar-linked ID generated through registration on e-Shram, allowing their social security benefits to be portable across platforms.
- Aggregators are required to contribute 1-2% of their annual turnover (capped at 5% of payments made or payable to gig/platform workers) to a Social Security Fund.
