New Delhi: The Government of India has unveiled draft rules for the newly-enacted Social Security Code that would oblige platform and gig workers to work for a specific time period every year to be qualified for benefits from social security as per a notice made available for public discussion on Friday. The plan aims to expand protections for social welfare to a growing portion of the workforce who is traditionally not able to access formal benefits for employment.

In the proposed rules, a gig worker or platform worker must be working with one aggregator for at minimum 90 days during the calendar year to be eligible for coverage under social security like health, life, or personal accident insurance. This includes the possibility of receiving pension benefits in the future frameworks. For those who are who are associated with multiple aggregaters the threshold has been set to be 120 calendar days and days are being counted cumulatively across platforms. For instance that an employee is on 3 different apps on the same day, the three engagements are counted towards the total requirements.

The Social Security Code, 2020 that recognizes platform and gig workers, aims to provide basic welfare benefits previously unobtainable to the workforce. These include insurance as well as formal identification and pension schemes that are supported by aggregators’ contributions or the government, as well as possible workers themselves.

Eligibility Criteria and Registration

The proposed rules clarify that the eligibility requirement for benefits from social security is applicable to gig workers employed in direct partnership with the aggregater, or indirectly through associate companies subsidiary companies, affiliates, or third party. All gig and platform employees over 16 years old would require an Aadhaar linked registration via the designated government portal. Every aggregator will need to give details about the worker to aid in the creation of an Universal Account Number for each worker in the event that they already have a registered.

Once they have registered, the workers are granted an ID card which could be physical or digital, which will allow workers to gain access to the benefits of social security. In the draft announcement, it describes the composition that is proposed for the National Social Security Board that will be responsible for overseeing the future regulations for platform and gig workers, assessing the number of employees and identifying new types of aggregators which require regulation.

Counting Engagement and Thresholds

The period of engagement will be measured from the moment the worker earns a profit from the aggregator regardless what the sum. The rules state that days spent on different platforms will be counted in a cumulative manner to determine the eligibility. This means that one worker who is engaged on multiple apps in one day may accumulate multiple days of involvement towards the minimum threshold.

People who fail to meet the minimum engagement requirement for a specific fiscal year will not be eligible for Social Security benefits. In addition, an age limit has been suggested: people are no longer eligible when they reach the age of 60. old.

Context and Rationale

The proposed rules have been made public amid the increasing focus on the rights of workers in gig economy and welfare. The workforce of gig workers in India is predicted to expand significantly over the next few years, and estimates suggest that the number could reach more than 23 million in 2029-30. The absence of a formal social security system that cover gig-workers has been a constant issue for labor advocates due to the reliance of gig workers on non-traditional, flexible work arrangements.

The draft release last week coincided with a series of industrial actions of gig-workers, such as protests on New Years Eve which saw delivery drivers as well as other workers on platforms protested against the low wages, job insecurity and insufficient safety precautions. These actions have heightened the growing tensions in the industry and the urgent need to create regulatory frameworks that provide the most basic security.

Implementation Framework

The Social Security Code, 2020 adopted as a part of India’s overall labor law reform, provides the legal basis for the extension of welfare benefits to non-organised sector workers, such as workers in those working in the gig economy. The Code proposes the creation of a Social Security Fund financed through contributions from the state and central authorities, aggregators and other sources, with the intention to provide coverage for disability and life insurance as well as health and maternity benefits as well as protection for old age.

The new rules are an effort by the government to make the provisions of the Code operational and seek feedback from stakeholders prior to the finalisation. The draft regulations are open to public consultation which allows comments from workers as well as employers, industries, and civil society organizations.

Industry and Labour Sector Reactions

Industry experts have previously suggested that flexible engagement rules are crucial to the sustainability of platforms-based services which are often dependent on the capacity of employees to work across different platforms, without having rigid structures for employment. However, labor organizations have called for more extensive security measures, including the guarantee of minimum-wage, paid vacation and accessibility to grievance redressal procedures.

In the proposed rules for engagement, thresholds of engagement try to balance the flexibility of platform operators while still requiring to establish a baseline to determine eligibility for benefits. However, responses from stakeholders to these thresholds as well as other provisions will influence the final design of the rules.

Next Steps

The Ministry of Labour and Employment will collect information from those who took part in public discussions in order to improve the draft guidelines. The finalised guidelines are expected prior to the complete implementation of the labor codes that the government hopes to implement across the nation.

These initiatives reflect the growing awareness that policymakers are beginning to realize the necessity to incorporate work from gigs into social security system by aligning the regulatory standards to the changing nature of gig work in the digital age.