In a first, Rajasthan clears bill granting social security to gig workers

The Rajasthan assembly on Monday passed a bill extending social security to gig workers in the state, a first of its kind in the country, without any debate as the House witnessed unruly scenes leading to expulsion of sacked minister Rajendra Gudha and BJP legislator Madan Dilawar for the remainder of the ongoing session.

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The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023 seeks to register all gig workers and aggregators in the state, facilitate guarantee of social security to gig workers, and give them an opportunity to air any grievances.

A vital component of the bill is setting up a welfare board, titled The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers Welfare Board, which will have two members each from gig workers and aggregators to be nominated by the state government besides two civil servants. The board will ensure registration of gig workers and aggregators operating in the state and establish a social security and welfare fund for gig workers. The bill states that the state government will maintain a database of the gig workers and generate a unique ID for every one of them.

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As part of the “Platform Based Gig Workers Fund and Welfare Fee”, a fee will be levied on aggregators, “which shall be at such rate (per cent) of the value of each transaction related to a platform-based gig worker, as may be notified by the state government,” the bill states.

The bill also provides gig workers access to general and specific social security schemes; opportunity to be heard for any grievances and appropriate grievance redressal mechanism; and participate in all decisions taken for their welfare through representation in the board.

The Congress-led Rajasthan government has also introduced a provision for penalties if aggregators fail to pay the welfare fee within time. The state government may impose a fine which may extend up to ₹5 lakh for the first contravention and up to ₹50 lakh for subsequent contraventions.

Welcoming the bill, social activist Nikhil Dey said it is “probably world’s first such bill for the gig workers, which will be looking after their welfare and social security”.

Before bringing the bill, the state government had conducted a sample survey of gig workers to find about the benefits and challenges for them, officials said. The survey found that over 50% gig workers did not have any kind of health insurance and about 40% were not covered under the state government’s accidental insurance. Most workers were from Rajasthan and there were some from other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, a senior official said.

A bill with regards to gig workers was announced earlier this year by chief minister Ashok Gehlot during his last budget speech. The budget session was also the last of the ongoing 15th legislative assembly as the state will go to polls later this year.

He had said the ambit of gig economy was continuously increasing across the globe, including in Rajasthan.

In Rajasthan, there are around 3-4 lakh gig workers, Gehlot had said. “But there is no social security for these gig workers by the companies. To provide support to these workers and protect them from exploitation, we are bringing a Gig Workers’ Welfare Act, under which a welfare board will be set up. A welfare and development fund of ₹200 crore will be formed,” Gehlot had said in his last budget speech.

Cabinet minister Sukhram Vishnoi said, “In the current economic scenario, gig work has a large potential to create jobs especially for a large section of low-skilled population. Despite major contribution in economy and employment, gig workers form a part of unorganised workers and are still not covered under the labour laws. They do not receive the same level of protection as traditional employees get.”

He said, “So far there is no regulatory frame work for gig workers and aggregators. Therefore, the state government decided that interests of gig workers should be protected and they should be provided social security benefits”.