What is Gig Economy Issues and Steps to be taken in India

What is Gig Economy? Issues of it and Steps to be taken. What will be the effect of Gig Economy in India

Gig Economy

• A gig economy is a form of free market where businesses hire independent workers on a temporary basis and temporary positions are common.
• Gig economy is prevalent among blue-collar jobs in India, the demand for gig workers in white-collar jobs such as project-specific consultants, salespeople, web designers, content writers and software developers are also emerging.
• Gig Worker: A person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship.
• According to a 2019 report by the India Staffing Federation, India is the fifth largest in flexi-staffing globally, after the US, China, Brazil and Japan.

Different Collar Jobs

• A blue-collar worker is someone who works manual labour for an hourly wage and belongs to the working class.
• White-Collar Worker: A salaried professional, usually used to describe management and general office staff.
• The term "gold-collar worker" is used to describe highly knowledgeable individuals who are extremely valuable to the company. Examples include doctors, researchers, and attorneys.
• Those who are employed but are not categorised as white- or blue-collar workers are known as "grey-collar workers.". Examples include security guards, police officers, firefighters, and others.
• A "green-collar worker" is a person who works in the economic sectors related to the environment. Examples include those who work with solar panels 
• A pink-collar worker is someone who works in a field that is frequently underpaid and is generally regarded as the domain of women.
• Red-Collar Worker: Any type of government employee.
• An open-collar worker is a person who works from home, often online.

Key Drivers of the Gig Sector

• Flexibility to Work from Anywhere: Because work can be done from anywhere, employers are not restricted by geography in choosing the best talent for a project.
• Millennials are changing the way that work is done by pursuing careers that they are passionate about.
• Business models: Gig workers are paid according to a variety of models, including fixed fee (set at the beginning of the contract), time & effort, actual unit of work delivered, and quality of result.
• Emergence of a Start-Up Culture: Hiring full-time employees increases the fixed costs for start-ups.
• Growing need for Contract Worker

Challenges with the Gig Sector

• The gig economy thrives largely in an unregulated environment, so employees have little job security and few benefits.
• A worker must possess the necessary skills. A person's ability to negotiate will necessarily be constrained unless they are exceptionally talented.
• While businesses frequently spend money on employee training, a gig economy worker will need to do so on his own and at his own expense.
• Demand-Supply Mismatch: There are already a great number of online jobs available compared to the number of potential independent workers, and this demand-supply mismatch will only worsen over time, lowering wages.

Platform Workers: What are they?

• A platform worker is a person employed by a company that directly offers individuals or organisations certain services through an online platform.
• Drivers for Ola or Uber, Swiggy or Zomato delivery personnel, etc.

Concerns:

• They are not covered by the conventional distinction between formal and informal labour.
• Due to their inability to take advantage of many workplace benefits and protections, platform workers are considered independent contractors.