Ola, Uber, Dunzo worst platforms for gig workers

NEW DELHI: When it comes to fair work for gig workers among the digital platform economy in India, Ola, Uber and quick-grocery delivery provider Dunzo are the worst performers across parameters related to the working conditions of gig workers, 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’. Other platforms who scored zero in the report were Amazon Flex and PharmEasy, while Porter scores just 1 point out of 10.

Professor Balaji Parthasarathy, a principal investigator of the team, said these findings are alarming for all stakeholders - government, consumers and platform owners - and they should come together to help gig workers get the best working conditions. “We would like the government and other stakeholders like consumers and digital labour platform owners to take note of these findings and ensure a better work environment for millions of gig workers in 2023,” Parthasarathy said. The Fairwork India team was spearheaded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP), International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), in association with Oxford University in the UK.

There were two highlights: Firstly, the same three platforms that scored the first point for Fair Pay last year scored a point this year too.

“No other platform publicly committed, or provided sufficient evidence, to ensure that workers earn at least the hourly local minimum wage after work-related costs,” the findings showed.