The gig economy includes a large group of people in various roles, the forefront of the evolution has been platform workers. Platform workers refer to people who work with “platforms” that connect the customer to the service provider or the platform worker. Beauty service providers, technicians, delivery partners and other service workers hired through various apps all comprise the term “platform workers”.
After finding its footing in India through various apps that have now become a staple in our lives, the gig economy is alive and well. There is no doubt about that.
Then why are we having this conversation?
Because platform workers don’t fit into the neat parcel of labour laws currently in place, in India.
Labour laws usually view compliance in a very binary manner. They are rigid and view the employer-employee relationship through the conventional set-up of physical workplaces. In the landmark supreme court verdict in Hussainbhai, Calicut versus Alath Factory Thozhilali Union, Kozhikode and Ors. (1978), it was clarified that labour laws only apply to employees.
Now, this excludes platform workers from many labour benefits that employees are entitled to.
That brings us to the crux of this discussion:
Do platform workers also have the right to a safe workplace?
The short answer is: YES.
This is because the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 or the PoSH Act 2013 places its purpose over technicalities.
Let me explain. The first few lines of the act talk about its purpose: to protect women from sexual harassment in the workplace and identify sexual harassment as a violation of the very right to work. A right that isn’t limited to a specific type of workplace or a specific type of industry.
The PoSH Act 2013 was created with a very clear purpose, one that echoes through each definition in the law – to create a safe workplace for women.
When we review the definition of employee under the PoSH Act 2013, it states:
…“employee” means a person employed at a workplace for any work on regular, temporary, ad-hoc or daily wage basis, either directly or through an agent, including a contractor, with or, without the knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not, or working on a voluntary basis or otherwise, whether the terms of employment are express or implied and includes a co-worker, a contract worker, probationer, trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name;
By the mere size of the definition, you get a sense of how inclusive it is. The definition of an employee doesn’t just cover full-time employees but goes beyond that to cover contract workers, probationers, and even visitors. This approach is because the right to work and the right to safety are not effective, when limited.
What can companies do?
The act may currently be silent on the role of platforms and aggregators but this stance is fast-changing with various laws in discussion in various states to include platform workers in the ambit of labour-based social security.
Here are some small steps organisations can implement to include platform workers and other contract workers into the ambit of their efforts towards building a safe workplace:
- Extended PoSH policies – Companies can start by creating an inclusive PoSH policy. The definition of employee under the existing law already covers platform workers, integrate this definition into your company policy to create a robust base for extended implementation of PoSH.
- Awareness sessions – Including platform workers in awareness sessions is also a great way to ensure that platform workers also receive information about PoSH at their organisations. Sessions are essential to understanding what sexual harassment means and how to report incidents, apart from undoing stigma and empowering people.
- Tech features and app-based support – The only connection gig workers have to their organisation is the app, which can be powerful in supporting and encouraging reporting. Including helplines and providing app-based support is essential to allow platform workers immediate resolution to concerns.
To learn more about how you can take an inclusive approach to PoSH at your workplace, reach out to us at hello@serein.in