Indian officials trained on extending social protection to gig and platform workers at ITC-Turin

The ILO Country Office for India conducted a five-day workshop on the extension of social protection coverage to workers in the platform and gig economy from 18 - 22 March 2024 in Turin, Italy.

Recognized globally as a fundamental human right, social protection helps alleviate poverty and vulnerability across all stages of life through various policies and programs. In India, recognizing the substantial growth of the platform and gig economy and highlighting the emergent need to expand social protection coverage, the Government of India has taken steps to address the specific needs of workers through instruments such as the Code on Social Security, 2020.

This training is especially relevant in aligning with the ILO India’s Decent Work Country Programme 2023-2027, Output 3.1.2- “Increased national capacity to strengthen social protection systems and ensure sustainable and adequate financing and sound governance.”

The workshop was designed for participants from India, who represent senior central and state-level officials, seeking to formulate strategies for extending social protection coverage to platform and gig economy workers.

The workshop offered participants the opportunity to:

• Increase their awareness and knowledge of the international legal framework and ILO standards to provide adequate coverage for workers in all forms of employment, including those in the platform and gig economy
• Enhance their understanding and capacities to strengthen national social protection systems and social protection policy-making processes
• Facilitate the exchange of international best practices on social protection extension strategies and adapted solutions on social protection schemes design and implementation in different countries
• Identify key barriers and possible solutions for the extension of social protection to gig and platform workers in India
• Develop a set of action-oriented recommendations to improve labour and social protection rights for workers in the platform and gig economy, in compliance with national social security law and international social security standards.

State governments such as Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala have been proactively exploring scheme designs to extend social protection to gig and platform workers.

Participating officials from Central and State governments included:

1. Mr Ramesh Krishnamurthi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
2. Dr Pradeep Kumar Jena, Director, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
3. Ms I Rani Kumudini, Special Principal Chief Secretary, Labour, Employment Training and Factories, Government of Telangana
4. Ms Anamika Tiwari, Labour Commissioner, Labour Department, Government of Assam
5. Mr Mohammed Mohsin, Principal Secretary and Dr G Manjunath, Additional Labour Commissioner, Department of Labour, Government of Karnataka
6. Mr Mukesh Kumar, Secretary, Department of Labour, Government of Jharkhand
7. Mr Sanjeev Kumar Besra, Labour Commissioner, Department of Labour, Government of Jharkhand
8. Mr Prithvi Raj Sankhla, Secretary, Department of Labour, Government of Rajasthan
9. Mr Arjun Pandian, Labour Commissioner, Department of Labour, Government of Kerala