Speedy Delivery, Delayed Justice: The Silent Battle Of India’s Gig Workers

From a toothbrush to a laptop, everything we need now arrives in under 30 minutes, driven by the engines of our gig economy, its workers. However, beneath all that facade, the paradox stares right back at us when these very convenience providers are today battling for basic protection and labour rights.

Illustration by The Geostrata

According to Niti Aayog, India had 7.7 million workers in 2020-21, a number projected to further soar to  23.5 million workers by 2029-30. With India projected to have one of the largest gig workforces all across the globe by 2030, the minimum wage guarantees, long working hours, a dearth of social securities, including health and life insurance, and the suffocating grip of algorithms deciphering an individual’s worth, the conditions of gig workers disturbingly point towards a modern-day digital slavery.

In May 2025, Zepto delivery workers in Hyderabad launched an indefinite strike against the decreased payouts and grave labour rights violations, from earlier pay per order of 35 rupees now being deducted to 10-15 rupees, laying bare the abject life they are being forced to lead, a reality we must not shy away from.

INDIA'S EMERGING GIG WORKFORCE

With digitalisation, the Indian economy is rapidly transitioning towards gig work, informal labour and service-based employment. The World Economic Forum defines the gig economy as  ‘the exchange of labour for money between individuals or companies via digital platforms that actively connect providers with customers on a short-term and payment-by-task basis’.

According to the Ministry of Finance, gig workers will constitute 6.7% of India’s non-agricultural workforce by 2030, posing the question of whether India’s largest emerging workforce can continue to remain outside the legal purview of the state. 

In India, gig workers are categorised as self-employed and engaged either in web-based or location-based work, facilitated by companies such as Uber, Ola, and Zomato. While the gig economy has been positively impacted by providing a plethora of opportunities and employment growth, especially for women in the global south, employing 7.7 million women in 2021, with the number projected to increase to 23.5 million by 2029-30, the current Indian Labour Law framework faces significant criticism for the legal hurdles it poses for a gig worker.

The Indian Labour Law framework recognises three core categories of workers; however, the gig workers are left unprotected from key laws such as the Minimum Wages Act of 1948. 

A Swiggy delivery driver today risks losing their entire day’s income in case they fall sick and may face account deactivation if a single customer gives a low rating, pushing them into a crisis of financial vulnerability. These lived realities reflect the glaring reality of the times and the crisis this sector battles with. 

THE GLOBAL RESPONSE

The challenges related to the gig economy are no longer confined to India and are unfolding worldwide in response to digitalisation and platform work. According to a Mastercard survey, the gig economy is projected to grow by  17% annually, with a sharp surge in the global south, including India and Vietnam, blessed with the youth demographics and shifting from the traditional agricultural mode of employment to digitalisation.  

The gig employment today poses a central question to all developed economies, whether they are to be contracted under independent contractors or employees. California’s Assembly Bill 5 law addresses this issue by determining whether a gig worker is an independent contractor or an employee, and focuses on recognising the gig economy workers as employees to provide labour protection, including minimum wage, sick leave and workers' compensation, addressing the exploitative loopholes often misused by companies to avoid providing benefits to employees. 

In contrast, such regulatory frameworks still do not find relevance in the Global South, leaving the gig workers vulnerable and exposed to detrimental conditions.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the issue again into focus as these workers kept moving cities, however remained the least protected. Globally, the momentum now shifts towards recognising the worker rights while also balancing the flexibility of platforms.  

A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH

India, recognising the need for reforms, has taken significant strides in the right direction with the passing of the landmark code on the Social Security Act 2020, which, for the first time, recognised the terms ‘gig workers’ and ‘platform workers’ in the Indian legislative framework. The code highlights various incentives for gig workers, including housing, education benefits for students, funeral assistance, and an old-age home, overseen by the National Social Security Board.

The launch of national welfare schemes, including the E-Shram portal in 2021, was a step in the right direction, creating a centralised database of all the informal workers, including the gig workers. The annual budget of 2025-26 emerged as a monumental budget for gig workers as the decision to extend the PM Jan Arogya Yojana and the healthcare benefits and coverage up to 5 lakh rupees was now extended to even gig workers, potentially benefitting nearly 10 million people.  

While at the state level, the policies have seen an acceleration. The Rajasthan Platform- Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023 law mandated registration of gig workers, setting up of welfare boards that comprise ⅓ of the women, ensuring increased transparency. Karnataka’s Platform-Based Gig Workers Bill 2024 also mandated worker data registration and provided a gig workers insurance scheme, including health, life and disability insurance coverage. 

Legal battles are further reshaping the discourse including the IFAT petition, in the Supreme Court, seeking social security benefits and protection for gig workers demanding their recognition as unorganised workers under the Indian law since companies such as Ola, Uber, Zomato, avoid providing social security and thus infringing upon constitutional right to equality(article 21) and protection against forced labour (article 23). 

All these measures point towards an important shift; India is no longer ignoring its gig workers, yet, by treating them as ‘self-employed’,  the system still exposes millions to the depriving working conditions and calls for an urgent need for stronger protection rights. 

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Although India has made progress in the right direction, the system still requires  a comprehensive overhaul with greater emphasis on implementation and enforcement 

Legislative Reforms: India needs to calibrate and could classify gig workers, adopting a similar strategy as the UK, by introducing a worker category. A worker would be entitled to minimum wage, paid vacation, and a pension. This would allow the gig workers to enjoy the same benefits as employees, especially when their work and time are analogous. 

Nationwide Protection Regulation: Building a nationwide protection regulation to prevent exploitation and centralising the incentives, rather than limited state enforcement of laws. This includes establishing a body that sets standard guidelines for digital platforms, with enforcement by the centre and constant monitoring of adherence. Women gig workers must be provided with childcare support, flexible scheduling, and anti harassment provisions. 

Minimum Wage Guarantees: Adopting policies that further expand healthcare insurance and adopting minimum wage guarantees, which are currently not addressed under the code on social security 2020. The platforms must further adhere to increased transparency with clear representation of the algorithmic data. 

While the gig economy opens the doors to a plethora of opportunities and has further expanded the digital economy, in India, it reflects the sharp binaries that exist deep within the system. State-level incentives with their limited approach implement laws uneven and thus call for a multi-pronged approach, as the future of humans cannot be left on the market to decide, and the promise of India’s digital growth could only be realised when the rights, security, and dignity of every gig worker are protected and upheld. 

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BY ANANYA SHARMA

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@thegeostrata.com