How Platforms Betrayed Workers

digital platforms covid19

The healthcare crisis has exposed the chinks in the business model of the Ubers and Olas of the world. In India, the workers are left to the mercy of the market as well as the virus 

India’s lockdown saw an interesting protest in Bengaluru. Cab drivers, including those who work for platforms such as Uber and Ola, staged a silent protest against the state government in April, clicking selfies with empty vessels. A good number of the city’s Uber/Ola drivers are migrants from various parts of Karnataka. And for most of them, rents, EMIs and daily sustenance are key concerns. By definition, they are partners and the platform, in this case Uber and Ola, does not have to provide income support or healthcare benefits. In the case of taxi drivers, the digital platforms came up with a healthcare assistance plan if a driver is tested positive for Covid-19 . But that was not enough. The protesting drivers were looking for money as subsistence and to keep the loan sharks at bay at least till the lockdown is over.

The platform economy is often hailed for its innovative idea of considering its workers as “partners”. It offers flexible hours of work and higher earning opportunities. While that is true in some cases, a majority of the workers in different platforms have a very different story to tell. Their story includes long hours of work, less than sufficient income and a potential income loss every time they are hit by a health crisis or an accident. With the status of being self-employed, they have to fend for themselves through crises, especially when jobs are difficult to find. The Covid-19 lockdown meant that there was no earning opportunity for Uber/Ola drivers and Airbnb hosts. But the lockdown also meant busy days for delivery partners. Companies such as Swiggy and Zomato took to the delivery of essential goods, despatching their executives in the streets to meet demand. The delivery partners were running the risk of getting infected with the virus with apparently no initial health cover. 

Missing in action 

Uber’s solution to the employee’s distress was an insurance plan and a care fund. A scheme it launched offered a 14-day insurance cover for its drivers. The company announced on its website that it is planning to raise funds worth another Rs.25 crore in order to support its drivers. Drivers, however, complained that it was difficult for them to avail of the benefits of these schemes as proving eligibility itself was cumbersome. Like Uber, other companies in the sector also turned to the customers to fund their partner welfare schemes. Food delivery apps introduced the concept of tips and also asked for donations. With almost everyone hit by the Covid-19 economic impact, we are yet to see how those crowdsourcing efforts have materialised. What’s missing is a decisive action from these companies to back their employees, or partners as they would call, during this time of economic and healthcare distress. 

Fairwork, an organization which works in collaboration with ILO in studying platform labour, conducted a study in April to understand how the digital platforms have responded to the crisis faced by their workers. It found that a majority of workers were concerned about their falling earnings and wanted some kind of protection. Most companies in the sector have left this issue to the respective governments to address. The study observed that companies have remained conservative in their response to the pandemic and have concentrated more on measures to keep the customer confidence high, rather than addressing the issues of their workers. Having analysed the policy announcements, the study observed that while it could not find instances of “disaster capitalism”, it could neither find instances of “compassionate capitalism” in the digital platforms’ response to the lockdown crisis. 

Partners or workers?

Platforms have been under pressure to classify their partners as workers, but they have successfully resisted it so far. Companies like Uber have used their customers to campaign for them against such measures. Uber has a history of winning such campaigns. When California mooted new rules to classify drivers as workers, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have pledged a total of $90 million to fight the new proposed rules and keep the drivers as independent contractors.

The story is the same everywhere. After the euphoria of initial years, India’s platform workers were engaged in a battle to earn decent wages and social security benefits. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have weakened their position further. The crisis has exposed a system in which security and welfare for informal labour are virtually non-existent. 

According to a report by the International Labor Organisation (ILO), India will be one of the leaders in the platform economy, alongside China and the U.S by 2020. This also means there will be a large group of workers in the country without any social security measures and are prone to even the mild swings in the growth trajectory of the economy. Even though India’s draft labour code on social security and welfare acknowledges the platform workers, it does not mandate the provision of life and disability cover and health and maternity benefits. With the relief measures provided by the companies being very little and limited, these workers have nowhere to go other than ask for assistance from state governments, especially when their earnings take a hit. 

Amid mounting pressure and protests, the Karnataka government announced a one-time compensation for taxi drivers, but the drivers have complained that the money set aside for this was insufficient and the distribution was getting delayed. Various state governments, such as Uttar Pradesh, have taken steps to suspend labour laws and increase work hours, which even the ILO has not taken kindly to. With a weakening labour law regime post-Covid-19, India’s platform workforce might find it extremely difficult to even get legally classified as workers. Their demand for social security and welfare might appear far off unless the platform companies change their approach to workers. 

2 thoughts on “How Platforms Betrayed Workers

  1. They never come in time. They will accept the booking and then don’t show up.

    Reply

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