Cab aggregators Ola and Uber, grocery delivery app Dunzo, pharmacy platform PharmEasy and Amazon Flex were given ‘Zero’ ratings based on evaluation of fair working conditions for gig workers by a Fairwork India team in association with the Oxford University.
As many as 12 digital platforms were rated by Fairwork, which evaluates the work conditions of digital labour platforms internationally
The 12 platforms evaluated were: Amazon Flex, bigbasket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, PharmEasy, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato.
Fairwork India Ratings 2022 Report, which assessed platforms against five principles: Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management, and Fair Representation, found that Amazon Flex, Dunzo, Ola, PharmEasy and Uber scored zero out of 10 points.
“This year, no platform scored more than seven out of the maximum of ten points, and none scored all the first points across the five principles,” the report said.
Each of the five principles is broken down into two points: a first point and a second point that can only be awarded if the first point has been fulfilled. Every platform receives a score out of 10.
Urban Company scored the most, seven out of 10, followed by bigbasket (6/10), Flipkart (5/10), Swiggy (5/10), Zomato (4/10), Zepto (2/10), and Porter (1/10).
“In the eyes of the law, gig workers are independent contractors, which means they are not entitled to labour rights in a manner that unorganized workers or employees are.
“A starting point to improve their working condition would be to ensure that they receive at least the hourly minimum wage, after considering work-related costs, and ensuring that the demands they make through collective action are heard, acknowledged and considered by the platforms,” Professor Balaji Parthasarathy, the Principal Investigator of the team told news agency PTI.
The Fairwork India Team was spearheaded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP), International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), in association with Oxford University.
