According to sources familiar with the matter, the scheme will likely be announced within two or three weeks and notable platform aggregators such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber and Blinkit will participate.
As part of its efforts to improve the welfare of gig workers, the government plans on introducing a pension scheme which requires platform aggregators to contribute 2% of each worker’s income directly into an Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) account for each gig worker – providing further financial security.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the new scheme should be introduced within two or three weeks and prominent platform aggregators such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber and Blinkit may participate.
Govt to Launch Pension Scheme for Gig Workers; Employers to Contribute via EPFO
“This amount will not be included as part of their incomes; rather it will be in addition. A platform aggregator will collect this sum and deposit it with EPFO into workers’ accounts – we hope the scheme will be launched within two-three weeks,” according to sources who spoke to Business Standard.
Nirmala Sitharaman made this announcement following her budget declaration in February, which provided health coverage for gig workers through the PM Jan Arogya Yojana. To register under this pension scheme, gig workers will register on E-Shram and declare which platforms they work on before receiving a universal account number under EPFO upon verification. Using this pension scheme, when working on quick commerce platforms where earnings average 15 for every transaction performed by them their employers will deposit two per cent (30 paise) into their UAN with EPFO,” sources explained.
Effective Data Sharing Key to Gig Workers’ Pension Scheme Success, Say Experts
At present, there are an estimated 10 million gig workers by 2025; of these workers, an estimated 3.5 million have engaged online platforms such as 11 aggregators have reported working with these platforms within the past 90 days alone; “Eleven Aggregors have Reported Working With These Platforms Within 90 days
Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers has stressed the critical need for platform aggregators to share data about gig workers with government. Without mandatory data sharing with E-Shram portal, many workers would be unable to take advantage of government initiatives; registration alone won’t suffice in guaranteeing they receive benefits,” he noted.
Stakeholder discussions are currently taking place, including state labour ministers, gig workers’ unions and aggregators. The success of this pension scheme depends on effective data sharing and cooperation from all involved. By unifying efforts towards providing comprehensive support to gig workers by way of health and pension benefits in one package.
