A CRITIQUE ON THE STATUS OF THE GIG WORKERS IN INDIA JOURNAL OF LABOUR LAW
Keywords:
Gig Economy, Gig Workers, Social Security, StatusAbstract
Gig is actually a slang term meaning a job for a specified period of time. But it has found its
way into mainstream business vocabularies as more and more communities trend towards a
gig economy. A gig economy is a free market system with a lot of temporary jobs. Gig
workers include freelancers, independent contractors, project-based workers, and temporary
hires, and they can be found in any business industry now a days. Writers, rideshare drivers,
photographers, accountants, realtors, handymen, programmers, tutors, painters, dog walkers,
and anybody else who enters into formal agreements with a company to deliver services
without being on the payroll are all examples of gig workers. Because of digitization, the
workforce is becoming more mobile, allowing workers to choose from a variety of temporary
jobs all around the world. The gig economy also saves employers money on things like
benefits, office space, and training, while giving employees advantages like a better work-life
balance and the opportunity to choose the jobs or gigs they want. However, the gig economy
has also brought in the challenges for the gig workers in the existing labour law systems.
This paper intends to look into the status of gig economy workers in India and how can they
be improved. To begin, this paper introduces some recent case studies in order to provide an
impression of the status of workers in India's gig economy. However, with the help of
illustrations, this paper also explains the gig economy and how it works in India. Second, this
paper examines the current state of gig economy workers in India using case studies from
various media outlets as well as academic research papers. It also draws on previous surveys
of gig workers conducted in various parts of India and among various types of gig workers.
Finally, this paper proposes some solutions for improving the status of gig workers and also
suggests some actions that individuals and businesses, in addition to the government, can take
to help improve the status of gig economy workers.
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