GIG ECONOMY WORKERS AND LABOUR PROTECTION IN INDIA: REIMAGINING EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

The rise of the gig economy has become a defining element of India’s digital economy, transforming conventional employment relations through its flexible, platform-based, and technologically enabled nature. Digital platforms like Uber, Swiggy, Zomato, and Urban Company have created significant employment opportunities, especially for young urbanites, migrants, and semi-skilled individuals. On the other hand, the exponential growth of platform labour has revealed fundamental deficiencies in India’s legal framework for workers’ protection. Gig workers are treated as independent contractors instead of employees, thus denying them access to several mandatory protections concerning minimum wages, social security, workplace safety, collective bargaining, and conflict resolution. The current labour legislation system, which is primarily based on traditional employer-employee relationships, lacks sufficient legal provisions to govern work done via digital mediation and algorithmic control. The paper seeks to critically analyse the legal, constitutional, and socio-economic aspects of the gig economy in India and determine if the present laws governing workers protect their interests and ensure their well-being. In particular, the Code on Social Security, 2020, new welfare schemes being introduced, and constitutional ideals of social justice and dignity of labour will be considered. Other topics to be discussed include wage uncertainty, algorithmic governance, the absence of collective bargaining rights, and occupational vulnerability of gig economy workers. Some comparative analysis is made of how other countries like the UK, California, and the European Union have approached the issue of platform labour.