This might spell the end of the gig economy in India

An organization representing app-based transport and delivery workers has approached the Supreme Court, seeking employment benefits from platform aggregation companies. Will the sector survive its biggest challenge yet?

Let me remind you of the promise,” says Shaik Salauddin over the phone. “They promised us jobs. They promised us security. They promised us hope. They called us partners. People left everything—jobs, farming and lives—and came to cities in droves in pursuit of hope. Today, they can’t manage two square meals. And then these companies exploit these people, off-road them, block their IDs when they want. Is this dignity of labour? Is this what you call job creation? Is this employment?”

Salauddin, a cab driver in Hyderabad, is the general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), …

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Pradip K. Saha

Pradip is a co-founder at The Morning Context and leads our newsletters vertical. He has previously worked at The Ken as a staff writer, at Mint as an assistant features editor and the Deccan Chronicle as a copy editor. He works with a slew of expert newsletter writers across subjects and domains. His own writing spans the gig economy, farmers caught in the crossfire of technology, global warming and parents trapped in the edtech wave. Some of his best stories have come at the intersection of technology and human endeavour.

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