India’s gig economy set to boom: Navigating the future of work

According to TeamLease, employment in India's gig economy is set to double in the next five years. This form of work differs from traditional employment due to factors that make it difficult to ensure labour rights. Regulating the platform worker market requires a nuanced approach, one that avoids introducing rigidities, while remaining inclusive. Rules must be tailored to address mobility, working conditions, social security and bargaining power. Gig work must be classified as employment, followed by conditions that define it. India has taken the first step by incorporating platform work into a separate labour code, and introduced measures to expand publicly funded social security for gig workers. This year's budget announced that GoI will provide healthcare benefits for gig workers under PM Jan Arogya Yojana. Private companies must follow for their own benefit.

This approach avoids the pitfalls of classifying gig work strictly as employment, which could hinder the growth of ecommerce, or as self-employment, which would limit access to formalised social security. Future interventions must account for the fluid nature of the gig economy. These include access to credit that considers income fluctuations, portability of social security due to the temporary nature of engagements, skilling for upward mobility, ensuring algorithms do not alter contract conditions without human oversight, and maintaining pay parity with wages in formal employment.

Access to insurance is critical. Gig work often involves navigating busy and inconsistently regulated transportation infra. This challenge becomes even more pressing as the sector expands beyond large urban centres. Policy must also address the likely imbalance in bargaining power resulting from use of AI. Another critical factor is skilling. Without opportunities for growth, supply of labour for dead-end jobs may dwindle. Tech dispersion creates more pathways for individual advancement. The platform economy competes with traditional distribution channels and must cultivate its own talent pool.