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The rules are yet to be framed, but experts say the Code on social security in its current form creates more challenges than clarity surrounding the employment of gig and unorganised workers

- Divya J Shekhar

When the going gets tough, Priyanka Thorat wonders what it would be like to have a job with a steady income and other monetary benefits. The 24-year-old has been working as a delivery executive with food tech platform Swiggy for the past three years, but things have been difficult of late. Earlier, she used to complete between 20 and 25 deliveries daily, but since the lockdown in March, barely 10 orders come her way every day. This has resulted in her weekly income reducing from approximately ₹4,000₹5,000 earlier to ₹2,000-₹3,000.

A resident of BDD Chawl in Mumbai’s Worli locality, she tried to take up other jobs to supplement her income, but either there were safety issues or the roles were not flexible enough for her to take them up along with domestic responsibilities. “It’s difficult to keep the house running,” says Thorat, whose parents passed away when she was a teenager, resulting in her quitting school to support herself and her three siblings.

She is unaware that just a week before our conversation in early October, the Parliament passed three Codes in an attempt to overhaul the complex labour laws of the country. This includes the Code on Social Security, which, among other provisions, directs aggregators like ride-sharing services, food and grocery delivery services and eCommerce platforms, to contribute 1 to 2 percent of their total annual turnover towards social security provisions for workers. This includes disability and life insurance benefits, accident cover, maternity coverage, creche services, old-age protection, gratuity and provident fund contributions.