Telangana implements gig worker rules, mandates minimum pay, social security benefits

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Saturday launched the Telangana Platform-Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Rules, 2026, setting out 12 fundamental rights for gig and platform workers, including minimum remuneration, social security benefits, transparency in payments and protection against arbitrary account deactivation.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who launched the Telangana Gig Workers Special Security Scheme along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad, said the government would enforce the legislation to protect workers in the sector. The move fulfils a promise made by Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hyderabad, when gig workers had raised concerns over working conditions and lack of social security.

The bill was first passed by the Telangana Assembly in March 2026.


As part of this scheme, the state will extend accident insurance coverage to gig workers and uncreases the coverage limit under the Aarogyasri health scheme to Rs 10 lakh.

The rules provide for registration of workers and issuance of unique identification numbers, representation in decision-making, social security benefits including insurance, healthcare and pensions, and a welfare fund to be financed through contributions from aggregators.

They also provide for greater transparency in earnings, payments and ratings, protection against discrimination, minimum remuneration, health and safety safeguards, fair contracts and advance notice of changes in working conditions.

Other provisions also include the right to refuse work without penalties, safeguards against arbitrary blocking or deactivation of worker accounts, and time-bound grievance redressal mechanisms.

Shaik Salauddin, founder-president of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), called the launch a significant milestone in the decade-long struggle of gig and platform workers in the state.

He said the focus would now shift to ensuring that the provisions translated into enforceable benefits on the ground. The union has called on the state government to ensure time-bound implementation of the rules, operationalise the Welfare Board and Welfare Fund, and hold aggregators accountable for their contributions and obligations.

Salauddin also said the union would continue to push for comprehensive national legislation guaranteeing rights to gig workers, arguing that the Centre's National Social Security Board, notified on October 30, was not a substitute for enforceable workplace protections.

"We will continue to organise, defend these rights and hold platforms and governments accountable for their implementation.

We fought for a decade to secure these rights. We will continue to fight until every gig worker can exercise them," Salauddin added.