Karnataka forms working groups to fix gig worker welfare levy, tech integration
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The state government has come up with draft rules governing the welfare of gig and platform workers and formed two working groups to determine the rates of fees to be levied on platforms, suggest technology integrations, and devise welfare programmes.The fee will be 1-5% of each payout made to the gig worker, say the rules, while adding that the aggregators must calculate and declare the welfare fee every quarter. The fee will go into the proposed welfare board, which will run programmes for these workers.One working group will determine the percentage of the fee that platforms must pay based on certain parameters. The fee will be differential depending on the type of service and will fall between 1% and 5%. The government may fix a higher rate on higher revenue-earning businesses, such as cab-hailing services, sources briefed on the matter said. The Code on Social Security caps the fee at 5% of the amount paid to gig workers.The working groups consist of representatives from platforms, tech companies, think tanks, and technocrats, additional labour commissioner G Manjuanth said.Aggregators and other stakeholders have a month's time to give their suggestions to the government on the draft rules. The government will study them and notify the final set of rules, incorporating suggestions from working groups. 'The reports of the working groups will have more clarity on the rollout of gig workers' welfare,' Manjunath added.Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot cleared the Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Ordinance in the last week of May, prompting the government to work on the details of implementation.The draft rules detail many aspects, including the constitution of the gig workers' welfare board.Labour minister Santosh Lad plans to roll out the welfare fund by the end of August.Bengaluru is estimated to have about 2.75 lakh gig workers engaged in a range of services, including ride-hailing, ecommerce, and food delivery. Minister Lad said that about five lakh gig workers are engaged by platforms in the state, and the law will benefit all of them.Karnataka came up with the bill last year, after Rajasthan passed a law in July 2023, becoming the first state to introduce a law for platform workers. The state, however, is yet to frame rules. When implemented, Karnataka will be the first southern state to introduce welfare programmes for gig workers. Telangana has borrowed a copy of the state's draft to explore a similar law in the Congress-ruled state.The subject gained pace after Rahul Gandhi discussed it with chief minister Siddaramaiah in Delhi on April 3. The government had soft-pedalled on the idea after sections of ecommerce, ride-hailing, and delivery platforms resisted the move last year.
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