More than half of Tricity gig workers overburdened, lowly paid: Report
More than half of gig workers in Chandigarh Tricity work over 10 hours a day, six days a week for an average net income of Rs 682 per day, a report by the PANJ Foundation has found.
The report, “The Gig Economy in Tricity: A Platform Labour Market Study,” was discussed at a session hosted by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) and the Chandigarh Citizen Foundation (CCF) here on Tuesday.
The report is based on a field survey of 312 gig workers in the Tricity across three platform categories — ride-hailing, food delivery and last-mile logistics. It found that 55% of respondents were graduates and depended on gig work as their full-time job and primary source of income. It also found that 61% of gig workers were engaged in multi-homing, working across two or more platforms simultaneously.
The findings were presented by Sirjan Kaur of the PANJ Foundation. The session was chaired by Amit Kumar, Commissioner, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, and co-chaired by Vini Mahajan, former Punjab Chief Secretary and vice-chairperson, CCF; Upinder Sawhney, former Chair, Panjab University, and Senior Fellow, CRRID; and senior advocate ML Sarin.
Rishabh Sharma of Florida Consulting, the discussant for the session, said the gig workforce was projected to reach 20 million active monthly workers nationally by 2030. He called for skill mobility measures and the integration of gig workers into urban policy planning.
Kumar cited government schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, aimed at extending social security coverage to gig workers, and referred to gender disparities within the sector.
Sahil Kumar, president of the Tricity App and Platform Based Worker Union, said the data did not capture costs such as fuel expenses borne by workers, and raised concerns over worker safety on the road. He called for rest points for workers, a minimum basic wage and the extension of Haryana’s low-rent housing scheme for gig workers to Punjab and Chandigarh as well.
