Only 3,000 gig workers have registered for insurance scheme so far: Karnataka labour department (2024)

The Karnataka government has received applications from only 3,152 gig workers so far for the government’s insurance scheme, according to the state labour department.

Of the total number of applications across the state, 2,321 have been approved, 793 are under process, 22 have been forwarded, and 16 were rejected.

The majority—1,365— of applications were from the Bengaluru Urban district, and comprised applications from those working for Swiggy (708), BigBasket (212), Flipkart (142), Zomato (131), Delhivery (34), Amazon (12), Uber (10), Ola (10), Rapido (nine), Ekart Logistics (seven), Blue Dart Express (one), Box8 (one), Chai Point (one), Dunzo (two), I Say Organic (one), Milkbasket (one), Teabox (three), and others (80).

Last September, the Karnataka government unveiled an insurance scheme with a cover of Rs 4 lakh for gig workers, providing a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and an accident cover of Rs 2 lakh. The plan was to cover 2.3 lakh gig workers in the state.

Additional labour commissioner (industrial relations) Manjunath Gangadhara told Moneycontrol that the authorities had not received any claims from the registered gig workers. “There were two deaths of gig workers due to road accidents, but they were not registered. We have been creating awareness and also held multiple discussions with companies.”

Gangadhara elaborated that companies/aggregators were not sharing the database of their workers. "They claim that one gig worker may be working in multiple companies or often switches from one app to another. They also said some workers register with them but are not active. So, we asked them to consider those who had completed at least five deliveries in six months, but we have not got any response from them so far.”

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the insurance scheme for gig workers in the state budget in July. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also interacted with gig workers in Bengaluru ahead of the Karnataka assembly polls and also took a 2 km ride with a delivery partner on his vehicle.

Also read: After Rajasthan, Karnataka notifies Rs 4 lakh insurance cover for gig workers

Labour department officials said the Karnataka State Gig Workers Insurance Scheme covers all gig workers, including food delivery agents and e-commerce workers. “All gig workers registered on the Seva Sindhu Portal will be eligible, and insurance benefits are available for on-duty as well as off-duty accidents. This benefit is completely free, and they need not pay anything.” said an official.

Following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's interaction with food-delivery workers and drivers during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Congress-led states have been wooing gig workers. Last year, Rajasthan, then under a Congress government, became the first state to pass a law for the welfare of platform-based gig workers. In October 2023, before the assembly polls, the Rajasthan government announced a one-time payment of Rs 5,000 for gig workers to purchase helmets, uniforms, and other daily-use items upon registering with the state government.

The newly formed Congress-led government in Telangana has also announced a Rs 5 lakh accident insurance cover for gig workers, including those involved in food delivery and those driving cabs and autorickshaws.

However, union representatives say that gig workers are not receiving the benefits. Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), told Moneycontrol:“Workers have not been able to benefit because aggregators/companies are not ready to share their database with the government. Many people who died in accidents are not getting any insurance because of the indifferent attitude of aggregators,” said Salauddin.

Moneycontrol has reached out to major aggregators for comment, but is yet to receive a response so far.

Coming soon: Karnataka gig and platform workers’ bill

After Rajasthan, Karnataka will soon come up with the Gig and Platform Workers' Bill to safeguard the interests of gig workers. Gangadhara said the state was preparing the draft of the Bill. “According to the Social Security Code of 2020, a 1-2 per cent cess is to be levied on the annual turnover of the aggregator. We are also considering a cess on the number of deliveries done through aggregator platforms. But nothing has been finalised so far,” he said.

“In Rajasthan, they are levying 1% of the total value of the service or delivery (such as a taxi ride or a food order). But aggregators said there are some flaws in the Bill. While Rajasthan passed the Bill it is yet to frame the rules. We are trying to come up with a better Bill,” said Gangadhara.

The labour department official added that the Karnataka government was now holding talks with the Congress-led government in Telangana. “We are trying to reach a common ground. Different rules in each state will make it difficult for aggregators, so we are conducting a detailed study on the impact and other implications,” said Gangadhara.

“We have already had a meeting with aggregators, and a few of them have their welfare work schemes,” he added. However, getting data from aggregators/firms is proving to be a huge challenge. “We had asked for details like the number of gig workers registered, the number of deliveries, active workers, and social security schemes, but the aggregators are not sharing this information with us.”

Also, read: Karnataka govt seeks inputs, suggestions on Gig and Platform Workers’ Bill