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17-01-2022, 03:39 PM
Vasudevan Sridharan
Published: 12:00pm, 17 Jan, 2022
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Among the most seismic shifts, however, is how the pandemic has fuelled a trend that was already under way: the rise of the gig economy in which workers take on temporary, flexible jobs, often arranged online, rather than full-time employment.
And there are few places where that shift has been as evident as India, a country of 1.4 billion people where an already burgeoning informal workforce has been supercharged by a pandemic-fuelled growth in digital services. Some estimates suggest India has 15 million gig workers, though depending on the definition used the true number could be far higher.
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Here, four people who embraced the opportunities tell This Week in Asia about their good gigs, and their bad ones.
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I deliver everything from delicious food to important documents through platforms like Dunzo and Swiggy. I work from 9am to 12 midnight. While the minimum guarantee for daily income is about 2,000 rupees (US$26), I don’t get that in hand.
If I earn 2,000 rupees, I’ll spend over 25 per cent on fuel. I have to roam around and ride 300km every day in the city.
For me, it is a good job since I like roaming. But, I’m not satisfied and the rates are very bad. For every kilometre I travel, I get 7 rupees, which is terrible.
Wherever I go, I will have to return empty-handed [which costs fuel] as even if I wait for several hours, I won’t get orders in remote parts of the city.
Sometimes, we’ll get pickup orders 8km away and when I’ve got to within 400 metres of the location, the order will get cancelled. We get just 10 rupees if the order is cancelled. And then I cannot wait there. I’m forced to return [to the delivery centre]. I cannot wait and get stuck in traffic or I will never get another order. Somehow, I will have to return with no work order.
If we protest and ask for a raise, the companies will immediately cancel our contracts and we will be blacklisted.
For the other 3 better-off workers, please refer to: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics...nation-gig
Published: 12:00pm, 17 Jan, 2022
......
Among the most seismic shifts, however, is how the pandemic has fuelled a trend that was already under way: the rise of the gig economy in which workers take on temporary, flexible jobs, often arranged online, rather than full-time employment.
And there are few places where that shift has been as evident as India, a country of 1.4 billion people where an already burgeoning informal workforce has been supercharged by a pandemic-fuelled growth in digital services. Some estimates suggest India has 15 million gig workers, though depending on the definition used the true number could be far higher.
......
Here, four people who embraced the opportunities tell This Week in Asia about their good gigs, and their bad ones.
......
I deliver everything from delicious food to important documents through platforms like Dunzo and Swiggy. I work from 9am to 12 midnight. While the minimum guarantee for daily income is about 2,000 rupees (US$26), I don’t get that in hand.
If I earn 2,000 rupees, I’ll spend over 25 per cent on fuel. I have to roam around and ride 300km every day in the city.
For me, it is a good job since I like roaming. But, I’m not satisfied and the rates are very bad. For every kilometre I travel, I get 7 rupees, which is terrible.
Wherever I go, I will have to return empty-handed [which costs fuel] as even if I wait for several hours, I won’t get orders in remote parts of the city.
Sometimes, we’ll get pickup orders 8km away and when I’ve got to within 400 metres of the location, the order will get cancelled. We get just 10 rupees if the order is cancelled. And then I cannot wait there. I’m forced to return [to the delivery centre]. I cannot wait and get stuck in traffic or I will never get another order. Somehow, I will have to return with no work order.
If we protest and ask for a raise, the companies will immediately cancel our contracts and we will be blacklisted.
For the other 3 better-off workers, please refer to: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics...nation-gig
