Gig Workers To Get Pension From Aggregators Under New Social Security Scheme

India's gig workers are now eligible for pension, according to a new scheme in the works by the Labour Ministry, as per people familiar with the matter.

All aggregators, including the likes of Swiggy Ltd., Zomato Ltd. and Uber, will now contribute to pension for their gig workers. The government's labour ministry is working on a transaction based percentage formula to determine pension contributions.

Gig workers will have a single universal account number under EPFO, even for all platforms, should they choose to work with multiple. The scheme is set to be unveiled in the next two or three months.

Extensive discussions are underway with state labour ministers, gig workers' unions and aggregators, over the new scheme, the people quoted above said.

For example, under the new scheme, if a worker who moonlights with Zomato and Rapido, earns Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000 respectively, they will now be getting a pension fund contribution from each aggregator. The contribution will likely be a low-single digit percentage.

The government has been focussing on social security for gig workers. This year's Economic Survey recognised India's gig workforce, which is slated to reach 23.5 crore by 2030.

In the Budget 2025 announced on Feb. 1, the government announced a social security scheme for gig workers, under which, gig workers will be given unique identity cards, registered on the e-Shram portal, and given access to healthcare under PM Jan Arogya Yojana.