Gig Worker Social Security: India as a Global Pioneer under the New Labour Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/ijmds.v15n09.003Keywords:
Platform labour, gig economy, social protection, aggregator levy, e-Shram, Labour Codes, IndiaAbstract
Delivery riders, cab drivers and home-service providers who find work through mobile applications have remained, for the most part, outside India's social security net. Their position changed on paper when the Labour Codes took effect in November 2025, because the social security code, enacted five years earlier, names such workers, names the platforms that engage them and obliges those platforms to pay into a fund. This has encouraged the view that India is a global front-runner in the field, and the present chapter tests that view. It reads the relevant provisions of the Code, the Central Rules of May 2026 and four state statutes against the approaches followed in Singapore, Malaysia, the European Union, Spain, the United Kingdom, Chile and California, and against the platform economy Convention adopted by the International Labour Organization in June 2026. On timing and on the design of its levy, India's claim holds up reasonably well, since few jurisdictions had legislated for platform workers as a separate class by 2020 and the turnover-linked levy is distinctive in design. On delivery, the picture is less flattering. Benefits still await schemes that the Union Government is empowered but not obliged to frame, eligibility turns on ninety or one hundred and twenty days of engagement and only about five lakh platform workers had been registered by December 2025. The chapter therefore argues that India has led in drafting rather than in delivering protection, and it draws out what this means for platform firms and for policy.
References
[1] Behrendt, C., Nguyen, Q. A., & Rani, U. (2019). Social protection systems and the future of work: Ensuring social security for digital platform workers. International Social Security Review, 72(3), 17–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/issr.12212 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/issr.12212
[2] Bihar Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, Act No. 8 of 2025 (Bihar, India).
[3] Cherry, M. A., & Aloisi, A. (2017). "Dependent contractors" in the gig economy: A comparative approach. American University Law Review, 66(3), 635–688. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/aulr/vol66/iss3/1
[4] Code on Social Security, 2020, No. 36 of 2020 (India).
[5] De Stefano, V. (2016). The rise of the "just-in-time workforce": On-demand work, crowdwork and labour protection in the "gig-economy" (Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 71). International Labour Office. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2682602
[6] Directive (EU) 2024/2831 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2024 on improving working conditions in platform work. Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 11 November 2024.
[7] Duggan, J., Sherman, U., Carbery, R., & McDonnell, A. (2020). Algorithmic management and app-work in the gig economy: A research agenda for employment relations and HRM. Human Resource Management Journal, 30(1), 114–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12258
[8] Fairwork. (2024). Fairwork India ratings 2024: Labour standards in the platform economy. Centre for IT and Public Policy, IIIT Bangalore, and Oxford Internet Institute. https://fair.work/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/10/Fairwork_India_Report_2024.pdf
[9] Faras, F., Mehta, B. S., & Datta, A. (2025). Platform-based gig work in India's labour statistics. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 68(1), 323–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-025-00566-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-025-00566-0
[10] Heeks, R., Graham, M., Mungai, P., Van Belle, J.-P., & Woodcock, J. (2021). Systematic evaluation of gig work against decent work standards: The development and application of the Fairwork framework. The Information Society, 37(5), 267–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2021.1942356 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2021.1942356
[11] Hussain, M. S. (2023). Learning to strike in the gig economy: Mobilization efforts by food delivery workers in Hyderabad, India. Journal of South Asian Development, 18(3), 431–456. https://doi.org/10.1177/09731741231182877 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09731741231182877
[12] International Labour Organization. (2021). World employment and social outlook 2021: The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work. International Labour Office.
[13] International Labour Organization. (2022). Protecting workers in new forms of employment [Paper prepared for the BRICS Employment Working Group meeting]. https://www.ilo.org/media/373766/download
[14] International Labour Organization. (2026). Convention concerning decent work in the platform economy (No. 193). International Labour Conference, 114th Session. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/ILC114-Instrument%20C.193-EN.pdf
[15] Jaiman, S., & Garg, A. (2026, July 15). ILO's convention for platform workers: Analysing India's abstention and its implications. LiveLaw. https://www.livelaw.in/articles/ilo-convention-platform-workers-analysing-india-abstention-implications-541178
[16] James, S. (2026, July 3). Karnataka High Court refuses to stay State Gig Workers Act, asks platforms to deposit welfare fund with court. LiveLaw. https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/karnataka-high-court/karnataka-high-court-interim-order-challenge-platform-gig-workers-act-539865
[17] Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, Karnataka Act No. 72 of 2025 (Karnataka, India).
[18] Kashyap, R., & Bhatia, A. (2018). Taxi drivers and taxidars: A case study of Uber and Ola in Delhi. Journal of Developing Societies, 34(2), 169–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0169796X18757144 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0169796X18757144
[19] Kellogg, K. C., Valentine, M. A., & Christin, A. (2020). Algorithms at work: The new contested terrain of control. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 366–410. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0174 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0174
[20] Kuhn, K. M., & Maleki, A. (2017). Micro-entrepreneurs, dependent contractors, and instaserfs: Understanding online labor platform workforces. Academy of Management Perspectives, 31(3), 183–200. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2015.0111 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2015.0111
[21] Ley 12/2021, de 28 de septiembre, para garantizar los derechos laborales de las personas dedicadas al reparto en el ámbito de plataformas digitales. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 29 September 2021 (Spain).
[22] Ley 21.431 que modifica el Código del Trabajo regulando el contrato de trabajadores de empresas de plataformas digitales de servicios, 11 March 2022 (Chile).
[23] Malhotra, P., & Agrawal, M. (2025). Dislike and survival: Work-related dynamics of gig platform workers in India. New Technology, Work and Employment, 40(3), 351–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12337 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12337
[24] Ministry of Finance. (2025). Budget 2025-2026: Speech of Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, 1 February 2025. Government of India. https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/bspeech/bs2025_26.pdf
[25] Ministry of Manpower. (2024a, September 9). New Platform Workers Bill to strengthen protections for platform workers [Press release]. Government of Singapore. https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2024/0909-new-platform-workers-bill-to-strengthen-protections-for-platform-workers
[26] Ministry of Manpower. (2024b, December 17). Commencement of Platform Workers Act from 1 January 2025 [Press release]. Government of Singapore. https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2024/1217-commencement-of-platform-workers-act-from-1-jan-2025
[27] Nair, G. (2023). The political economy of gig work in the pandemic: Social hierarchies and labour control of Indian platform workers. Journal of South Asian Development, 18(3), 409–430. https://doi.org/10.1177/09731741231202185 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09731741231202185
[28] NITI Aayog. (2022). India's booming gig and platform economy: Perspectives and recommendations on the future of work. Government of India. https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-06/25th_June_Final_Report_27062022.pdf
[29] Pal, P., & Kumar, A. (2024). Deciphering the nature and dynamics of gig-platform jobs: Workers' hidden precarity. Social Change, 54(3), 367–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/00490857241257179 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00490857241257179
[30] Parth, S., Bathini, D. R., & Kandathil, G. (2023). Actions in phygital space: Work solidarity and collective action among app-based cab drivers in India. New Technology, Work and Employment, 38(2), 206–229. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12223 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12223
[31] PERKESO. (n.d.). Soalan lazim Akta Pekerja Gig 2025 [Frequently asked questions on the Gig Workers Act 2025]. Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial, Malaysia. https://www.perkeso.gov.my/images/lindung/kendiri/080425-FAQ%20AKTA%20PEKERJA%20GIG.pdf
[32] Press Information Bureau. (2025a, November 21). Government makes the four Labour Codes effective to simplify and streamline labour laws. Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2192463
[33] Press Information Bureau. (2025b, December 4). Social security measures for gig and platform workers. Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2198746
[34] Proposition 22: Changes employment classification rules for app-based transportation and delivery drivers. (2020). California General Election, November 2020. https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2020/general/pdf/topl-prop22.pdf
[35] Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023, Act No. 29 of 2023 (Rajasthan, India).
[36] Rosenblat, A., & Stark, L. (2016). Algorithmic labor and information asymmetries: A case study of Uber's drivers. International Journal of Communication, 10, 3758–3784.
[37] Sinha, D., & Pandit, D. (2023). Assessing the economic sustainability of gig work: A case of hyper-local food delivery workers in Kolkata, India. Research in Transportation Economics, 100, Article 101335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101335 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101335
[38] Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 344(E), Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 8 May 2026 (India).
[39] Supreme Court Observer. (2021). Gig workers' access to social security: The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) v Union of India [Case page]. https://www.scobserver.in/cases/gig-workers-access-to-social-security-the-indian-federation-of-app-based-transport-workers-ifat-v-union-of-india/
[40] Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2026, Act No. 21 of 2026 (Telangana, India).
[41] Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 (United Kingdom Supreme Court, 19 February 2021).
[42] Vallas, S., & Schor, J. B. (2020). What do platforms do? Understanding the gig economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 46(1), 273–294. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054857 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054857
[43] Wood, A. J., Graham, M., Lehdonvirta, V., & Hjorth, I. (2019). Good gig, bad gig: Autonomy and algorithmic control in the global gig economy. Work, Employment and Society, 33(1), 56–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018785616 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018785616
