India’s gig economy is evolving but conditions of workers driving these new-age digital companies need improvement.
The Fairwork India project is an independent study on labour conditions of platform workers. businessline’s analysis of the Fairwork reports shows that players such as Swiggy and BigBasket have shown improvements in their gig worker policies over the years, climbing up in the overall ranks. Zomato’s ascent in ranks has been slower and marginal; Urban Company has had a turbulent ride in gig worker standards. In contrast, Flipkart, which was ranked no. 1 in 2021 , slid to the 8th spot in 2024.
Five principles
The Fairwork project rates platform companies by way of research, approaching the companies for evidence, and worker interviews. The project commenced in 2019 but metrics of 2021-2024 are only comparable. The study scores companies on five principles: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation. Each of these principles is then broken down into two sub-criteria, each with one point. The point for the second criteria is awarded only if the first one has been fulfilled. The Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIITB) heads the project along with partners at the University of Oxford.
Analysis of Fairwork reports across years shows that BigBasket and Urban Company maintained a steady level of scores across all principles. Zomato and Swiggy showed notable improvements over the years in the Fair Conditions and Contracts parameters. Flipkart experienced a decline, with dropping scores in Fair Pay, Conditions, and Contracts. Ola, Uber and Porter too consistently scored low across principles over the years. All platform players scored zero in fair representation in the absence of gig worker unions. Newer platforms like BluSmart and Zepto have been recently included in Fairwork’s analysis.
Talent solutions firm Randstad estimates that India’s gig economy employs 10-12 million workers at present, and is expected to surpass the 25-million mark within the next five years. Viswanath PS, MD & CEO, Randstad India expects the Budget announcements around e-Shram registration and healthcare benefits for gig workers to help the sector, but points out a need for effective execution. “To create a truly inclusive gig economy, companies must go beyond compliance by offering flexible yet secure contracts, fair wages, comprehensive health benefits, and continuous skill development opportunities,” he said.
According to experts, recent legislative efforts such as the Karnataka Draft Bill, which promises changes to gig worker conditions, will help address issues such as wages and collective bargaining, but significant gaps still remain.
As the authors of Fairwork reports note, without strong legislative mechanisms for collective bargaining, workers continue to have little control over their working conditions and the most companies too have not shown willingness to recognise a collective body of gig workers.
(The author is an intern at businessline. With inputs from Sindhu Hariharan)