UPSC Mains
GS Paper II
Social Justice
ILO Convention on Platform Workers: UPSC Mains Notes
The world’s first binding treaty for gig and platform workers has been adopted at the International Labour Conference — but India’s government abstained even as its own employer and worker delegates voted in favour.
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Convention Adopted
No. 193 — 12 June 2026
First binding treaty for platform workers
India’s Gig Workforce (2029-30)
2.35 Crore
Up from 7.7 million in 2020-21
India’s Vote
Government Abstained
Employer & worker delegates voted in favour
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ILO Convention 193: Context and Background
- On 12 June 2026, the International Labour Conference adopted Convention No. 193 in Geneva.
- It is the first binding international treaty written specifically for platform and gig workers.
- Major economies including China, Brazil, Germany, France, South Africa and Japan all voted in favour.
- India abstained at the government level, even though its employer and worker delegates both voted in favour — under the ILO’s tripartite system, only India’s government delegate abstained.
| In Favour | Against | Abstentions |
|---|---|---|
| 406 | 8 | 36 |
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Key Aspects of ILO Convention 193
- Extends a floor of rights to platform workers regardless of employment classification.
- Core protections include pay as per statutory minimum, on-time payment, occupational safety and social security.
- For the first time globally, the Convention regulates algorithmic management — the software that allocates work, sets pay and deactivates accounts.
- Platforms must disclose significant automated decisions, explain them in writing, and keep a human in the loop.
- Article 9 mandates that governments classify workers correctly based on the actual facts of how the work is performed.
- The World Bank estimates that 154–435 million people already earn through platforms worldwide.
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Challenges: Why India’s Gig Workers Remain Unprotected
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Scale of the Problem
2020-21 Gig Workforce7.7 million
Projected by 2029-302.35 crore
Share by 2030 (NITI Aayog)6.7% of non-agri workforce
Social Security CoverageOnly ~15% currently covered
- Around 39% of gig workers earn ₹10,000–25,000 monthly while working 12-hour shifts.
- The rest work with no accident cover, sick pay or pension, and face algorithmic deactivation without explanation.
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Policy Gaps
- The Code on Social Security, 2020 directs aggregators to pay 1–2% of annual turnover into a social security fund — but neither the contribution mechanism nor eligibility criteria have been operationalised.
- The central law defines gig workers but specifies no concrete benefits for them.
- Real legislative action has instead come from Rajasthan’s Platform-Based Gig Workers Act, 2023, and welfare boards in Karnataka and Telangana.
- The Centre abstains in Geneva even as its own states legislate worker protections actively.
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ILO Convention Track Record
- India is an ILO founding member but has ratified only six of eight core conventions.
- India has not ratified Convention 87 (Freedom of Association) or Convention 98 (Collective Bargaining).
- India has also not ratified Convention 190 on violence and harassment at work.
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India’s settled posture at the ILO has been to endorse principles in spirit while withholding binding obligations in practice — a pattern that Convention 193’s abstention now extends into the platform economy.
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Way Forward: Protecting India’s 2.35 Crore Platform Workers
Ratify Convention 193
Work toward ratification after aligning domestic law with the Convention’s provisions.
Operationalise the Gig Fund
Implement the Code on Social Security 2020’s contribution mechanism without further delay.
Define Benefits Clearly
Specify the nature, quantum and eligibility of social security benefits for platform workers.
Mandate Algorithmic Transparency
Require all platforms to explain automated decisions affecting worker income and account deactivation.
Clarify Worker Classification
Enact a legal presumption of employment for workers meeting the factual performance criteria under Convention 193.
Strengthen Centre-State Coordination
Integrate the Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana models into a comprehensive national gig worker framework.
The core tension for policy: India’s states are actively legislating gig worker protections while the Centre withholds a binding international commitment — a gap that a coherent national framework must close.
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Source: The Hindu