Telangana will launch a dedicated mobile application to register nearly six lakh gig workers across the state, while rules for implementing its Gig and Platform Workers Act have been prepared to provide social security, accident insurance and other welfare benefits, Shakti and Mining Minister Gaddam Vivek Venkatswamy said on Wednesday.
The proposed app will create a database of workers, record their grievances and help the government deliver welfare schemes, Vivek said at a news conference at the Telangana Secretariat. The registration exercise is intended to cover people working with multinational companies and digital platforms as delivery personnel, cab drivers and other service providers.
The minister said the government would use the database to identify workers’ problems and address them through the welfare framework. The legislation also provides for grievance redressal and other welfare measures, according to the minister’s remarks reported by the Times of India.
Gig workers in the state face challenges including tight delivery deadlines, inadequate welfare facilities and a lack of accident protection, Vivek said. The proposed framework is therefore centred on bringing workers who operate through digital platforms into a formal government register and linking them with benefits.
The announcement comes ahead of a rally of gig workers scheduled in Hyderabad on November 14. The rally will take place from Shilpakala Vedika to the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expected to participate. Vivek said the event would not be political and that workers could attend irrespective of their political affiliations.
The Telangana government held discussions with labour unions and department officials after coming to power, the minister said. It subsequently initiated steps relating to minimum wages and other protections for platform-based workers. Suggestions from platform companies and workers’ unions were incorporated into the implementation framework, according to Vivek.
The next institutional step is the constitution of a welfare board. Vivek said the rules had been prepared and that steps were being taken to establish the board, which is expected to administer welfare measures under the legislation. The announcement did not specify the app’s launch date, the registration process, the proposed minimum wage structure or the funding arrangements for accident insurance and other benefits.
Telangana’s government has said its legislation could serve as a model for other states. The effectiveness of the framework will depend on how widely workers are registered, how grievances are processed and how the promised benefits are delivered through the proposed administrative system.
