For a gig worker, social security should mean more than an accident policy attached to an app. It should provide reliable support when illness, injury, caregiving, old age, or a sudden loss of work interrupts earnings—and it should stay with the worker when they change platforms.
Benefits that follow the worker
Delivery partners, drivers, and other platform workers often earn from several sources over time. Benefits tied to one company or a fixed schedule can leave gaps. A portable system could give each worker a single benefits account that records contributions across platforms and preserves coverage when they switch jobs or take a break.
The package should cover practical risks: health care, workplace injury, paid maternity support, disability, and some form of retirement saving. For people whose income can disappear after an accident or illness, prompt income replacement may matter as much as medical treatment.
Fair funding and clear access
Platforms benefit from workers’ labour and should contribute to the cost of protection. Public funding can help cover people with very low or irregular earnings, while worker contributions—if required—should be modest and transparent. Contributions need to be calculated in a way that does not punish workers for having multiple platforms or fluctuating incomes.
Signing up and making a claim should not require a worker to navigate several apps, produce documents they cannot access, or wait months for a decision. Eligibility rules, contribution records, and claim status should be easy to check in the worker’s preferred language, with a human appeal route when something goes wrong.
Workers need a say
Gig workers should help shape the benefits and the rules for administering them. Their representatives need a meaningful role in oversight, along with access to clear information about how contributions are collected and spent. A safety net also cannot replace fairer working conditions: workers still need transparent pay calculations, protection from arbitrary account deactivation, and a way to challenge decisions.
India has recognised gig and platform workers in its social-security framework, but recognition alone does not guarantee usable protection. The real test is whether a worker who is injured, pregnant, or suddenly without assignments can get support quickly, without losing it when they move to another platform.
