HYDERABAD: A welfare cess on aggregator companies, grievance redressal system and equitable work distribution in the algorithm-based task allocation model are among some of the features that the Congress govt intends to incorporate in its policy for gig workers in the state.
According to details accessed by TOI, the state govt is actively evaluating various strategies for collecting cess from companies (not consumers or workers). It's mulling a 1% levy on either overall monthly transactions or a transaction-wise collection. A final decision will be taken soon, sources said.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy had announced on Wednesday that the govt would soon bring in a policy for gig workers. His announcement had come after Rahul Gandhi praised the state govt's socio-economic and caste survey and said state-wide public consultations should also be done for bringing a legislation for gig workers.
A welfare board is being planned to directly address grievances through a new resolution system, including a mobile application to facilitate gig workers easy access.
The govt will also give priority to equal work sharing as most companies assign more work to those who get better ratings based on algorithms.
The new policy mandates that aggregators, including food and delivery service companies, register with the labour department, a shift from their previous registration under the Shops and Establishment Act. The gig workers will also be required to register with the labour department. Initially, this registration will be managed by the labour department, but once the gig workers' welfare board is established, the process will transition to the board, the sources said.
'Reviewing gig policy in K'taka & Raj' We are currently studying the gig workers' policies of Karnataka and Rajasthan. If everything proceeds as planned, the legislation for gig workers will be introduced in the forthcoming assembly session," an official source said.
A meeting involving all stakeholders, including aggregators and gig workers, is set for the first week of Dec to finalise the details, the sources added.
Already, the Rs 5 lakh accident insurance scheme for gig workers announced by the CM has come into effect since Aug. According to sources, two claims under the scheme have also been settled. As part of the gig workers' welfare policy, the govt aims to implement various benefits such as health scheme, pension among others.
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