Telangana plans landmark bill for gig workers’ welfare

In a major relief for gig workers across Telangana, the state government is preparing to introduce a draft bill aimed at ensuring social security protection for lakhs of workers associated with platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, Ola and other app-based service providers. State Labour Minister Vivek Venkatswamy confirmed that the bill will be taken up for discussion in the cabinet meeting on November 12. Thousands of young people in Telangana currently work as delivery partners, cab drivers, logistics staff and service-based platform workers, but most remain without stable income, health coverage, pension or risk protection. The government argues that the proposed law aims to formalise rights, ease vulnerabilities and bring structural livelihood security into the gig ecosystem.

The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2025 provides for the formation of a dedicated Gig and Platform Workers Welfare Board which will oversee and notify social security schemes, ensure registration of gig workers as well as platforms, maintain a state-level database, implement welfare benefits, and monitor compliance. Each gig worker will be issued a Unique Identification Number which will work across all platforms they engage with. To finance social protection, the government will establish a special Social Security and Welfare Fund which will be funded by government support, workers’ contributions, CSR allocations and mandatorily from a welfare fee of one to two percent on every payout made by aggregator platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Ola and Uber. These transactions will be monitored quarterly through the Welfare Fund Fee Verification System. Penalties, fines and even imprisonment are included in the draft law for platforms that fail to deposit this statutory contribution.

The bill mandates transparency in automated algorithm decisions, payment calculations and customer rating impacts. Platforms must disclose these rules in simple language and avoid discrimination. Arbitrary blocking or sudden suspension of workers will not be allowed, and compulsory notice and written justification will be required. The bill also provides for sector-specific occupational safety standards, timely payouts without payment delays, and an official dispute resolution mechanism. Workers will have access to a State Appointed Grievance Redressal Officer as well as the right to appeal decisions, and platforms with over 100 workers must form an Internal Dispute Resolution Committee.

While the intent behind the bill has been widely welcomed, several questions are now emerging around implementation especially on how minimum income guarantees would be structured, how insurance is expected to be delivered, whether tie-ups with insurance companies will be formalised, how enforcement and monitoring of global platforms will function, and whether the state has sufficient administrative capacity to regulate compliance at scale. There is also early debate among gig community groups on whether unionisation efforts could begin under this legal space once workers receive statutory identity. Experts say the government’s intent is ambitious and progressive, but execution will require clear operational frameworks, inter-department coordination, digital transparency systems and regulatory enforcement depth.

At the national level, the Code on Social Security, 2020 passed by Parliament recognised gig and platform workers for the first time in Indian labour law, but its implementation has not yet begun. With the Centre still to notify rules, Telangana’s proactive legislative move is being viewed as a pioneering example that could influence and accelerate national conversations on platform worker protections. If passed, Telangana could become one of the first Indian states to create a fully enforceable social security model for gig workers — potentially becoming a template for the future structure of labour rights in India’s rapidly expanding platform economy.