A notable change in employment patterns is the global surge in the gig economy.
Per a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study, India boasts a gig workforce of 15 million, spanning sectors like software, shared services, and professional services.
Different Collar Jobs:
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Blue-Collar Worker: Manual laborers earning hourly wages, typically part of the working class.
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White-Collar Worker: Salaried professionals, including office workers and management personnel.
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Gold-Collar Worker: Highly skilled professionals such as lawyers, doctors, and research scientists, valued for their expertise.
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Grey-Collar Worker: Employed individuals not classified as blue or white-collar, often working beyond retirement age. Example: Firefighters, police officers, healthcare professionals.
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Green-Collar Worker: Employees in environmental sectors, like alternative energy or conservation organizations.
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Pink-Collar Worker: Workers in traditionally female-dominated professions.
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Scarlet-Collar Worker: Individuals, especially women, in the pornography industry, including internet pornography entrepreneurs.
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Red-Collar Worker: Government employees across various sectors.
- Open-Collar Worker: Remote workers, particularly those working from home via the internet.
Gig Economy:
A gig economy is a flexible market system where temporary positions are common, and organizations hire independent workers for short-term projects.
Gig Worker:
According to the Code on Social Security, 2020, a gig worker is someone who engages in work arrangements and earns outside of traditional employment.
India ranks fifth globally in flexi-staffing, as per a 2019 report by the India Staffing Federation.
Platform Workers:
These individuals rely on online software apps or digital platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, and Ola for work opportunities.
Non-platform Workers:
These workers are typically casual wage or own-account workers in traditional sectors, employed either part-time or full-time.
Key Drivers of the Gig Sector:
- Flexibility to Work from Anywhere: In the digital era, workers are no longer confined to fixed locations. They can perform tasks from anywhere, allowing employers to tap into talent globally without geographical constraints.
- Changing Work Approach: The millennial workforce exhibits a distinct approach to careers, prioritizing fulfilling work over traditional career paths that may not align with their personal aspirations.
Business Models & Technology:
- Compensation Models: Gig workers operate under diverse compensation structures including fixed-fee (agreed upon at contract commencement), time & effort, actual unit of work completed, and quality of outcomes. While the fixed-fee model is dominant, the time & effort model follows closely.
- Impact of Technology: Technological advancements have simplified contracting processes, facilitating easier connections between workers and companies. This enables non-employee contractors to find work and collaborate closely with organizations.
The Rise of Start-up Culture:
Growing Start-up Ecosystem: India's start-up ecosystem is evolving rapidly. To mitigate high fixed costs associated with hiring full-time employees, start-ups often engage contractual freelancers for non-core tasks.
Demand for Skilled Freelancers: Start-ups are increasingly seeking skilled technology freelancers, particularly in engineering, product development, data science, and Machine Learning (ML), to enhance their tech platforms on a project basis.
India's Gig Economy: Current Status
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Approximately 56% of India's new employment is attributed to gig economy companies, spanning both blue-collar and white-collar sectors.
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While the gig economy is predominant in blue-collar roles, there's a rising demand for gig workers in white-collar positions like project-specific consultants, salespeople, web designers, content writers, and software developers.
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The gig economy has the potential to create up to 90 million jobs in non-farm sectors in India, contributing an estimated 1.25% to the GDP over the long term.
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As India strives to achieve its target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025, the gig economy will play a crucial role in narrowing income disparities and addressing unemployment challenges.
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NITI Aayog recently released a report titled ‘India's Booming Gig and Platform Economy’, projecting that India's gig workforce will expand to 23.5 million by 2029-30.
- In 2020-21, an estimated 7.7 million workers were engaged in the gig economy, constituting 2.6% of the non-agricultural workforce or 1.5% of the total workforce in India.
Labour Code for Gig Economy:
Existing Legislation:
- The Code on Wages, 2019, establishes universal minimum wage and floor wage standards across organized and unorganized sectors, encompassing gig workers.
- The Code on Social Security, 2020, acknowledges gig workers as a distinct occupational group.
Associated Issues in the Security Code:
- Uncertain Benefits: While the Code on Social Security bill, 2020, extends benefits like maternity leave, life and disability insurance, old-age protection, and provident fund to platform workers, these benefits are not guaranteed.
- Undefined Responsibility: The Code mandates basic welfare measures as a joint responsibility of the Central government, platform aggregators, and workers. However, it lacks clarity on which stakeholder is accountable for providing specific welfare benefits.
Conclusion:
To address the challenges faced by gig and platform workers, several proactive measures can be implemented. Firstly, platforms should consider adopting policies that provide paid sick leave, health access, and insurance coverage for all workers throughout the year, enhancing their social security. Additionally, occupational disease and accident insurance should be extended to all workers, in line with the provisions of the Code on Social Security, 2020.
Moreover, retirement and pension plans, along with other insurance benefits, should be offered to provide financial security during contingencies such as work-related injuries. Providing income support during periods of irregular work can ensure a minimum level of earnings and social security for workers, fostering stability in their livelihoods.
Furthermore, establishing contingency funds, like the "Drive the Driver Fund" initiated by a mobility platform, can provide essential support to gig and platform workers during unforeseen circumstances. Overall, these measures can significantly contribute to enhancing the welfare and security of gig and platform workers in India.
