According to reports from Mint, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed the Rajya Sabha that the government will ensure gig workers in India have access to social security schemes through the Labour Codes. Responding during Question Hour, Mandaviya noted that the gig worker system is a newly emerging sector and cited a Niti Aayog report indicating they comprise 80 lakh workers in India. He further stated that close to 10 lakh of these gig workers have been registered on the Centre's e-Shram portal. As reported by ETHRWorld, Mandaviya emphasized that the gig worker system is a new and emerging system in India, with the government making provisions to provide social security to gig workers and protect their interests.
As reported by Mint, the labour codes provide comprehensive protection for gig workers by recognising and providing legal status to protect their rights as employees. The codes define a gig worker as a person performing work or participating in a work arrangement who earns from such activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship. Under the Labour Codes, gig workers have been recognised and provided legal status as part of the government's efforts to protect their rights as employees. The framework includes provisions for Fixed Term Employment, statutory recognition of Negotiating Unions and Negotiating Councils, and statutory minimum wages with timely payment provisions. As per ETHRWorld, the Labour Codes contain several provisions to strengthen worker protection, including issuance of appointment letters, statutory safeguards relating to notice of termination, retrenchment compensation and preference in re-employment of retrenched workers.
According to the minister's statement reported by Mint, the labour codes include provisions for social security benefits and measures relating to occupational safety, health, welfare and improved working conditions. These protections encompass the issuance of appointment letters, statutory safeguards relating to notice of termination, retrenchment compensation and preference in re-employment of retrenched workers. Mandaviya noted that the government has made provisions to provide social security to gig workers and protect their interests, with close to 101 crore people covered under various social security schemes under the Modi government. As reported by ETHRWorld, the minister assured the House that social security of gig workers will be ensured through implementation of the provisions made in Labour Codes for safeguarding their interests.
As reported by Mint, the Code on Wages, 2019 empowers central and state governments to fix, review, revise and enforce minimum rates of wages for establishments under their respective jurisdiction. The Code on Wages, 2019, which became effective from 21 November 2025, has made floor wage a statutory provision, with the minimum rates of wages fixed by appropriate governments not being less than the floor wage. The Code on Wages, 2019 stipulates that the minimum rates of wages fixed by the appropriate governments shall not be less than the floor wage. To take care of rising prices, the central government revises the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) on basic rates of minimum wages every six months, effective from 1 April and 1 October annually, based on Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) data. As per ETHRWorld, the Code on Wages, 2019 empowers central and state governments to fix, review, revise and enforce the minimum rates of wages for establishments falling under their respective jurisdiction.
According to Mint reports, the four labour codes - the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 - came into effect from 21 November 2025 and the Centre notified the corresponding Central Rules on 8 May 2026. The minister added that labour is a concurrent subject in the Constitution, and thus the Centre and state governments are responsible for implementation and enforcement of labour laws within their respective jurisdictions, with various states now in the process of notifying their respective rules under the new labour codes. As reported by ETHRWorld, the state governments are also in the process of notifying their respective rules under the Labour Codes within their respective jurisdictions. "Under the Labour Codes, the Central Government and the State Governments take appropriate measures, within their respective jurisdictions, to safeguard the interests of workers and ensure compliance with the statutory provisions," Mandaviya added.
