State government contemplating enacting law to provide social security to gig workers, says Minister

Labour Minister Santosh Lad reiterated on Monday, that the State government is contemplating enacting a law to provide social security to gig workers including in online delivery platforms on the lines of The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023.

Labour Minister Santosh Lad reiterated on Monday, that the State government is contemplating enacting a law to provide social security to gig workers including in online delivery platforms on the lines of The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023.

Addressing the Congress workers at the party offices in Udupi and Mangaluru, the Minister said that if the law is in place it will help lakhs of gig workers.

In Rajasthan, the Congress government has imposed a surcharge on online transactions conducted through platforms such as Amazon, Ola, and Zomato. The fund thus collected has been channeled to a welfare fund meant for gig workers.

The Minister said that about 85% of the workforce in Karnataka are in the unorganised sector. The intention of the government is to provide social security to all of them. He said that the government has also proposed to constitute a transport board to provide social security to commercial licence holders in the transport sector – such as drivers of lorries, autorickshaws, tempos and the like.

Speaking to press persons in Udupi, the Minister said that the government has plans to introduce universal card to provide social security to all workers in unorganised sector to include tailors, labourers, weavers, hotel workers and the like. Presently only construction workers and transport workers are getting the social security benefits.

The Minister said that the government in this fiscal received 13 lakh applications for student scholarships being distributed through Labour Welfare Board. In that the scholarships are being given to nine lakh students.

Mr. Lad said that the Labour Department will augment revenue by collecting cess from such buildings constructed after 2008 by geo mapping them.