The Social Security Code: A Boon or a Bane for Gig Workers?
THE SOCIAL SECURITY CODE: A BOON OR A BANE FOR GIG WORKERS? Simran Upadhyaya , Mitali Jain; 2nd and 1st Year, B.A. LL.B(Hons.), West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences Kolkata I. Introduction With the emergence of enterprises such as Swiggy and Uber, there has been a colossal increase in 'gig workers' employment. [1] Presently, gig workers constitute 56% of all new employment. [2] It is predicted that the gig economy will grow up to $455 billion by the year 2023, which comes down to an annual growth rate of around 17%. [3] The draft Code on Social Security, released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, defines the gig worker as " a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationships". [4] Thus, gig workers lie outside of the conventional employer-employee relationships and, consequently, remain devoid of the traditional employee b