The Karnataka government has announced a free accidental and life insurance cover worth INR 4 lakh for gig workers to ensure their social security.

Out of the total INR 4 lakh insurance facility, INR 2 lakh will be provided for life and another INR 2 lakh for accidental insurance.

With this facility, the gig workers in the unorganised sector working for food delivery companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, and other ecommerce companies will get insurance covers.

The premium will be borne by the Karnataka government.

“In order to provide social security to the ‘gig workers’ in the unorganised sector, ie, employed as full-time or part-time delivery personnel in e-commerce companies like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon etc, insurance facility of total INR 4 lakh will be provided,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

In its election manifesto, Congress promised to set up a ‘Gig Workers’ Welfare Board’ for Karnataka with a seed money allotment of INR 3,000 Cr. The manifesto said that if Congress comes to power, the government would come out with a new transparent policy to out-source employment for gig workers.

As per government think tank NITI Aayog, around 7.7 Mn workers were engaged in the gig economy in 2020-21 and this number is expected to soar to 23.5 Mn by 2029-30. However, the rise in the number of gig workers has also been accompanied by protests by them to demand higher wages and better working conditions.

Over the past one year, gig workers protested in many events including when Blinkit delivery executives went on a strike in the Delhi NCR region after the company rolled out a new payment structure. Separately, Dunzo riders in Bengaluru protested over a slew of issues, including changes in login timings and in incentive structure, among others.

As per a report by Fairwork, Indian startups such as Ola, Uber, and Dunzo were among the worst performers in providing appropriate working conditions to gig workers.