Telangana Implements Gig Workers Act, Announces ₹5 Lakh Life Cover and ₹10 Lakh Health Insurance
The Telangana government has implemented the Gig Workers Act, marking a significant step towards providing social security, legal recognition and financial protection to platform-based workers, including delivery executives and other gig workers.
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has implemented the Gig Workers Act, marking a significant step towards providing social security, legal recognition and financial protection to platform-based workers, including delivery executives and other gig workers.
Announcing the key measures, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said registered gig workers would receive life insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh and health insurance of ₹10 lakh through the Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme.
The government will also establish a dedicated Gig Workers Board to address workers’ grievances and safeguard their interests. Registered workers will be provided with unique identification numbers and identity cards to ensure formal recognition and access to welfare benefits.
Another important provision focuses on income protection. The government plans to introduce measures to ensure that gig workers are paid for the work they perform, even when they work for as little as one hour. The legislation aims to provide a framework for protecting workers from unfair practices and improving their working conditions.
Rahul Gandhi’s Assurance
The initiative follows Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with gig workers during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hyderabad in 2023. During the interaction, workers highlighted the lack of legal recognition, income security and social protection despite their contribution to essential services.
Follow for more details: munsifdaily.com
Rahul Gandhi had assured them that a Congress government in Telangana would bring legislation to protect their rights and livelihoods.
Subsequently, the Gig Workers Act was drafted following consultations with workers, their representatives, experts from institutions including IITs and IIIT Bangalore, and governance specialists.
The implementation of the legislation is expected to benefit thousands of platform-based workers across Telangana. It also marks an effort to extend social security measures to a workforce that has largely operated outside the traditional framework of employment benefits.
The move assumes significance as the gig economy continues to expand, with delivery executives and other platform workers playing an increasingly important role in urban services and the digital economy.
