The Karnataka government has introduced an insurance scheme with a cover of Rs 4 lakh for gig workers across the state, perhaps a first for any state.
Labour min. received request
Labour Minister Santosh Lad said that an association of gig workers had submitted a request to the labour department to provide accidental cover for all the gig workers in the state, where there are over 2-4 lakh of them.
“The gig workers’ association held a meeting with us requesting accidental cover.
The e-commerce companies mostly do not cover the gig workers for accidental insurance.
We are thinking of getting these gig workers a revenue model by constituting a transport board. As of now, the government has decided to provide them with an accidental cover,” he said.
About the scheme
The scheme applies to delivery personnel employed by food delivery companies like Zomato, Swiggy, and other e-commerce platforms.
“In order to provide social security to the ‘gig workers’ in the unorganised sector, ie, employed as full-time or part-time delivery personnel in ecommerce companies like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon etc, insurance facility of a total Rs four lakh will be provided,” chief minister Siddaramaiah said.
Subsidy and benefits will be given to registered beneficiaries and their dependents through the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, he added.
The state will pay the entire premium under which workers will get a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and accidental cover of Rs 2 lakh, Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state budget.
Protests amid growth
The economy has seen a huge rise in the number of gig workers with an estimated 7.7 million workers engaged in this sector in 2020-21.
This number is projected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30, according to the NITI Aayog.
However, there have been several instances of such workers staging protests with demands for better wages and working conditions.
Swiggy
Swiggy has mentioned its “strong insurance benefits” for its delivery partners and their dependents.
It has a claim status tracking function to help the delivery partners avail of insurance claims fast and without hassles.
It says it has also launched a 24×7 helpline for queries about moving from physical document submission to online submission.
Rival Zomato last year launched a pilot program to give its delivery partners and their dependents a health insurance cover of Rs 3 lakh.
Union says more left to do
While praising the move, Karnataka-based United Food Delivery Partners’ Union said gig workers should be recognised as formal employees.
They complained about conditions such workers had to endure, such as long hours all the while being deprived of facilities, such as sanitation, drinking water, resting places and so on.
“The expectations of the Union have not been fulfilled in this budget.
We welcome the move to extend insurance coverage to our peers and colleagues but the gig worker has still not received the recognition of being a worker in letter and spirit,” said Vinay Sarathi, president of the union.
