BENGALURU: Labour Minister Santosh Lad said on Friday that the state government proposes to impose a cess on every transaction of aggregator platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo and Ola, and a welfare fund will be created for gig workers.
The government is expected to place the draft Karnataka Gig Workers’ (Social Security and Welfare) Bill 2024 during the winter session in Belagavi in December.
Lad told TNIE that the draft bill is likely to be discussed at the cabinet meeting next week. After this, it will be placed in both Houses during the winter session.
Although sources said there is a proposal to impose 2% cess on each transaction, Lad said the government has not taken a decision yet. The government has no technology to keep track of the transactions and it will ask the aggregators to help it in this regard.
‘Draft bill won’t clash with Centre’s proposal’
The State Government has not conducted a survey to find out the number of gig workers with aggregator platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo, Zepto, Flipkart, Blinkit, Ola and Uber, among others. Lakhs of transactions take place every hour, he said.
On the proposed cess, Lad said gig workers take risks while at work. “They are vulnerable to road accidents. As they spend more time on roads, they inhale polluted air, leading to various health issues. We want to ensure that the welfare fund is used for health insurance and the education of their children,’’ he said.
A meeting of various stakeholders will be held soon on the proposed cess. “Let them propose new guidelines and arrive at a consensus on the cess,” he said.
The Union government has a proposal to formulate a social security scheme for gig workers. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting of representatives of gig workers’ associations in New Delhi on Thursday. They discussed various welfare benefits for gig workers.
Lad said Karnataka’s draft bill will not clash with the Union government’s proposal. It will be Karnataka-specific.