Even as traditional unions are weakening in India, workers in information technology and gig work are organizing.
In recent years, several unions have emerged for IT professionals, as well as for gig workers such as app-based taxi drivers, grocery delivery workers, and at-home salon service providers.
“In the next 10 years, it will all be a platform economy,” said Shaik Salauddin, an Uber taxi driver from the southern state of Telangana, who founded the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) in 2021.
India’s huge youth population of 371 million, many of whom are underemployed or unemployed, often are available to work for platform companies. There are already more than 10 million gig workers, and that number could swell to around 23.5 million by 2029-2030.
Many hail from rural areas and come to the cities in search of work and better incomes. Traditionally they found work in construction sites or as day laborers, but those with minimal education have in recent years pivoted to work for app-based platforms.
While in developed countries gig work is often a way to make supplementary income, for many of India’s gig workers, it’s the main source of livelihood. “These are the only jobs that the worker has,” said Sangam Tripathy, an advisor to the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers.
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