Unveiling The Realities Of Gig Work: Worker Exploitation And Economic Precarity

Juhi Porwal, BA.LLB. (Hons), Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonepat

ABSTRACT

The legislature has embarked upon an ambitious endeavour and has combined nine major labour laws into one to give us the Social Security Code, 20201 (hereon referred to as the “Code”), but it begets the question has it achieved its intended goals? At the core of this issue lies the definition of a Gig worker, it is defined in Section 2(65)2 of the Code as "gig worker" means a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship.” It is evident that instead of providing a clear definition of the term, the focus has rather been on creating a clear distinction between the “traditional employee” and a “Gig worker”.

This paper aims to critically analyse the Code from the lens of a Gig worker and, ascertain whether it has provided solutions for the problems which have continued to plague them in of the labour force. The legal lacunae have begun to transform into unchecked exploitation of a particular group which is a very undesirable situation for any country to be in, especially one that is the fifth largest economy in the world.

This paper aims to highlight the predicament of the gig workers, as the provisions of the code are not binding and are merely recommendatory in nature, creating a legal vacuum. Many of the daily struggles of the gig workers have not found any mention in the legislation such as income fluctuations, lack of access to credit, and lack of job security.

Keywords: Gig Worker, Social Security, Unorganised Worker, Platform Worker, Social Security Code, Labour Law reform