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In June 2022, NITI Aayog, launched a report titled 'Indi's Booming Gig, and Platform Economy'. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) was established in 2014, to replace India's erstwhile Planning Commission as the top policy think tank for the Union Government, through imbibing a bottoms-up approach to development planning and cooperative federalism.

 

The report estimates that in 2020–21, 7.7 million workers were engaged in the gig economy who, constituted 2.6% of the non-agricultural workforce or 1.5% of the total workforce in India. The gig workforce is expected to expand to an estimated 23.5 million workers by 2029–30. Gig workers are expected to form 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce or 4.1% of the total livelihood in India by 2029–30. At present, about 47% of the gig work is in medium skilled jobs, 22% in high- skilled, and 31% in low- skilled jobs. Trend shows the concentration of workers in medium skills is gradually declining and that of the low skilled and high skilled is increasing.

 

Platformisation of labour has created an unhealthy tussle between aggregator companies and the workers. Regulatory regimes are grappling with the question of directing policy to be supportive to all, benefiting the various stakeholders involved. The fallout between corporate owners of gig aggregator platforms and workers has shown that there is a misalignment of goals of these two interest groups. This has been characterised by protests and legal battles in response to the vulnerabilities faced by gig-workers within the gig-platform ecosystem. In turn, this has also resulted in greater demands for regulation and State intervention.

 

Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises jointly owned and democratically controlled by and for their members to realise their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. As enterprises based on values and principles, they put fairness and equality first allowing people to create sustainable enterprises that generate long-term jobs and prosperity. Managed by producers, users or workers, cooperatives are run according to the 'one member, one vote' rule.

 

Platform cooperatives are an alternate model to corporate owned gig-platforms, where the ownership of the platform rests with the members of the cooperative which is composed of workers utilising the platform. Platform cooperatives — or gig platforms owned by bodies that emulate the structure of traditional cooperatives — try to mitigate the exploitation of gig workers facing unequal power dynamics and bargaining terms. This organisational structure allows the workers themselves to own and have rights over the functioning of the platforms, unlike the current corporatized model.

 

 

Objectives

 

The webinar is a starting point to deep-dive into the experience of cooperatives on platforms, bringing together cooperative advocates, practitioners and young scholars from across continents. The webinar aims to:

• Understand the issues faced by workers within the gig-platform economy and explore how collectivisation can ameliorate these problems to ensure decent work, keeping in mind the heterogeneity of the sector.
• Share and discuss international best practices and case studies pertaining to platform cooperatives from abroad.
• Examine the status, growth and existing policy environment for the gig work in India and shed light on possible policy actions towards creating an enabling environment for decent work and growth of the gig economy.
• Foster cooperation and dialogue between stakeholders such as cooperatives, governments, academia, social partners and other community actors to advance decent work and fair work within the gig-platform economy.

 

 

 

 

About the Organisers

 

NITI Aayog

The NITI Aayog (abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India. The Skill Development and Employment Division provides advice and policy guidance to key stakeholders involved in skill development, employment generation and social welfare. The Division engages with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) in formulating policy/programme initiatives and reforms related to skill development, apprenticeships and employment issues. The Division also collaborates with various research organisations, development partners and experts to advance research oriented towards making an impact on policy and programme initiatives.

 

ICA Asia and Pacific

ICA-AP is one of the four regional offices of the ICA (International Cooperative Alliance). Established in 1960 in New Delhi, India, it unites, promotes, and develops cooperatives in the region. ICA-AP’s 114 members from 29 countries spans a variety of sectors, including agriculture, credit and banking, consumer, education, fisheries, forestry, housing, and insurance.

 

ICA Domus Trust

Dr. Mauritz Bonow was President of the ICA (1962 - 1975), and General Secretary of the Swedish Cooperative Union and Wholesale Society (KF). In recognition of the valuable contribution made by him to the development of cooperative movement throughout the world and particularly in developing countries, the ICA Domus Trust (Dr. Bonow Memorial, IDT) was set up on October 25, 1988 under the Indian Trust Act with its registered office in New Delhi, India.