Karnataka’s Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, passed Tuesday, requires fair and transparent contracts between gig workers and platforms on payments, deductions, and incentives. Additionally, the Bill mandates that contracts explicitly clarify the workers’ right to refuse tasks.
While introducing the Bill in the legislative assembly, Karnataka’s Minister Santosh Lad said the gig economy has flexible working hours. “There is no direct connection between the employer and the employee. Since there are flexible hours, you can work as much as you want. You have the right to reject tasks as well,” he said.
However, in reality, this isn’t always the case. Platforms often penalize gig workers who refuse tasks by reducing their incentives. A delivery worker who works for both Zomato and Swiggy told MediaNama that they can cancel only one order per day. Canceling more than one task results in the loss of incentives. Depending on the platform, daily incentives may range from Rs. 200 to Rs. 450, said the delivery partner. The lack of gig workers’ agency to refuse work raises key questions: Should gig workers have the right to refuse work? If they do, should platforms penalize them by withholding incentives?
Do they have the right to refuse work?
“We are freelancers, and we don’t have an employer-employee relationship with these platforms. So, we must have the right to refuse work, as the bill mentions,” said Shaik Salauddin, Founder of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union.
Furthering the argument, Shobhit S, Lead Researcher and Policy Engagement Officer at IT for Change, said that, generally, gig workers are free to accept or refuse tasks since they don’t have an employment relationship with platforms. This allows companies to claim that their platforms offer flexible work hours. However, he noted that a worker’s acceptance or refusal rate can affect the frequency of tasks assigned. “Platform-companies’ algorithmic systems use a range of data-inputs to offer tasks to workers – these data-inputs usually include the rate of a worker’s acceptance/refusal. Hence, a worker’s refusal of tasks may reduce the worker’s likelihood of being offered tasks in the future.”
Salauddin also recalled the discretionary practices and unequal incentive distribution of platforms as the core issue behind the need for algorithmic and data transparency. He said platforms are forcing workers through incentives. “Despite being “free” to refuse tasks, workers are under constant pressure to accept all or most tasks that are offered to them,” said Shobhit.
Legal Loopholes and Platform Penalties
Kinjal Champaneria, a partner at Solomon & Co., said Indian law does not provide statutory protection to prevent platforms from penalizing or deactivating gig workers who refuse work. He described the current legal framework as incomplete.
However, referring to the fair contract…
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