Maharashtra: Gig workers decry lack of consideration in party election manifestos

Gig workers successful the authorities are demanding amended moving conditions, societal information benefits, and designation of their rights arsenic workers. They are besides seeking extortion from exploitation by level companies. However, it remains to beryllium seen whether governmental parties successful Maharashtra volition code these concerns and see gig workers successful their manifestos.

Nisha Pawar, a pistillate gig idiosyncratic and Maharashtra in-charge of the Gig and Platforms Service Workers Union (GIPSWU), a women-led union, recalled the caller decease of a azygous parent gig idiosyncratic from Telangana. She said the idiosyncratic died past week owed to alleged torture and blacklisting by the institution she had worked for implicit 5 years aft participating successful strikes against it.

Pawar emphasised the plight of azygous mothers and women gig workers, saying, “The fig of azygous mothers successful this tract is substantial. Women gig workers are peculiarly susceptible and necessitate contiguous attention. This is nary longer conscionable astir survival; it’s astir beingness and death.”

“This tragic decease reminds america of the urgent request for societal information for women successful the authorities and for authorities vigilance implicit app-based companies to forestall the exploitation of women workers from becoming the caller normal. As nary governmental enactment has addressed gig workers’ concerns successful Maharashtra, we volition attack the judiciary to propulsion for a instrumentality successful the state,” she added.

Sainath J, coordinator of the All India Gig Workers Union (AIGWU) successful Pune, stressed the value of recognising gig workers arsenic workers alternatively than partners. “The authorities indispensable enactment to dainty gig workers arsenic workers nether labour laws. The word ‘partner’ misrepresents them and excludes them from ineligible protections,” helium said.

Sainath added that alongside socio-economic demands specified arsenic pensions, dearness allowances, minimum wages and the constitution of a payment committee for workers, gig workers should besides person entree to electrical bikes astatine subsidised prices. “To bring fiscal stableness to gig workers’ lives, they should beryllium provided with EV bikes astatine subsidised rates on with speedy charging points. This volition assistance them prevention connected substance costs and lend to reducing pollution,” helium said.

Keshav Kshirsagar, spokesperson of India Gig Workers Front (IGWF) said that their national had written to respective governmental leaders urging them to see gig workers’ concerns successful their manifestos, but nary enactment has responded. “It has been astir a twelvemonth since RTO and RTA announced revised fares for ride-hailing companies successful Pune, but nary of these companies person adhered to the rates,” helium said.

Kshirsagar besides called for the instauration of a state-level Gig Workers’ Act, akin to initiatives successful different states similar Rajasthan and Karnataka, to guarantee due policies for the payment of gig workers.

In January this year, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) announced caller fares to beryllium followed by aggregator companies. However, these companies successful Pune proceed to run without permits from the authorities. The lawsuit is pending earlier the State Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which volition determine whether to assistance them permits. Meanwhile, the RTO’s stance remains unclear, leaving questions astir the legality of the companies’ operations until the last determination is issued.