Gig Workers: Uber, Amazon, Others Score Low In Rating of Fair Work Conditions -Report

Uber, Dunzo, Ola and PharmEasy are the worst performers across parameters related to fair work and conditions among gig workers in India, a report showed on Tuesday.

Across 12 digital labour platforms -- Amazon Flex, Bigbasket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, PharmEasy, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato -- no platform scored more than seven out of the maximum of 10 points, and none scored all the first points across the five principles (fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management and fair representation) for gig workers, according to the 'Fairwork India Ratings 2022 Report'.

Gig workers are not employees of the company . They are not entitled to the same benefits as salaried employees — and are compensated on a per-gig basis.

Urban Company scored the highest, while Amazon Flex, Dunzo, Ola, Uber and PharmEasy scored no points on the Fairwork India Ratings 2022, which ranks the companies on the minimum standards of fair work.

Urban Company scored 7 out of 10, followed by Bigbasket with 6, Flipkart and Swiggy with 5, Zomato with 4, Zepto with 2, Porter with 1, and the remaining companies with a score of zero.

This year, bigbasket, Flipkart, and Urban Company implemented and operationalised policies to ensure that all workers on these platforms earn at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs. No platform made the second point which requires platforms to commit or provide sufficient evidence that workers earn at least the local living wage after work-related costs.

Seven out of twelve platforms were awarded the first point for Fair Contracts. bigbasket, Flipkart, Swiggy, Porter, Urban Company, Zepto, and Zomato were awarded this point for ensuring accessibility of their contracts and implementing a notice period before changes are made.

Additionally, Flipkart, Swiggy, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato, have modified their contracts to reduce the asymmetry in liabilities and have added a clause for dispute resolution between workers and platforms, and hence met the second point under Fair Contracts.

bigbasket, Flipkart, Swiggy, Urban Company, and Zomato were awarded the first point for Fair Management for having a grievance redressal process with the option to connect with a human representative of the platform. There was sufficient evidence only from Urban Company to meet the second point for the principle. It instituted regular, external audits to check for biases in its work allocation systems, in addition to adopting policies against the discrimination of its platform workers.

While workers have engaged in various forms of collective action to voice their concerns in the platform economy, platforms have been uncompromisingly unwilling to recognise or negotiate with any collective body representing workers," the findings showed.

This year, the report was structured around the theme of flexibility, which is often portrayed as a crucial dimension and benefit of platform work.

"The promise of flexibility of the digital platform economy raises as many questions about livelihoods as it offers opportunities. We hope the report provides the basis for an interpretation of flexibility that allows for not merely the adaptability that platforms seek, but also the income and social security that workers lack", said Balaji Parthasarathy and Janaki Srinivasan, the Principal Investigators of the team.

Fairwork evaluates and ranks the working conditions of digital platforms and ranks them on how well they do.

The five principles are

Fair Pay

Workers, irrespective of their employment classification, should earn a decent income in their home jurisdiction after taking account of workrelated costs. We assess earnings according to the mandated minimum wage in the home jurisdiction, as well as the current living wage.

Fair Conditions

Platforms should have policies in place to protect workers from foundational risks arising from the processes of work, and should take proactive measures to protect and promote the health and safety of workers.

Fair Contracts

Terms and conditions should be accessible, readable and comprehensible. The party contracting with the worker must be subject to local law and must be identified in the contract. Regardless of the workers’ employment status, the contract is free of clauses which unreasonably exclude liability on the part of the service user and/or the platform.

Fair Management

There should be a documented process through which workers can be heard, can appeal decisions affecting them, and be informed of the reasons behind those decisions. There must be a clear channel of communication to workers involving the ability to appeal management decisions or deactivation. The use of algorithms is transparent and results in equitable outcomes for workers. There should be an identifiable and documented policy that ensures equity in the way workers are managed on a platform (for example, in the hiring, disciplining, or firing of workers).

Fair Representation

Platforms should provide a documented process through which worker voice can be expressed. Irrespective of their employment classification, workers should have the right to organise in collective bodies, and platforms should be prepared to cooperate and negotiate with them.

The report examined the work conditions of platform workers on digital labour platforms in India. It evaluates 12 platforms offering location-based services in sectors such as domestic and personal care, logistics, food delivery, e-pharmacy, and transportation, in India.

December 27, 2022