BigBasket Tops Fairwork Index For Gig Workers; Ola, Uber Lag

Tata-owned BigBasket has topped this year's Fairwork India index, while ride-hailing majors Uber and Ola, along with logistics startup Porter, lagged at the bottom.

This year, the study scored 12 platforms, including Amazon Flex, BigBasket, BluSmart, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato. It ranks the digital labour platforms on the basis of working conditions, contract fairness, management and representation.

No platform scored more than six out of the maximum of 10 points, and none scored all the first points across the five principles, according to the Fairwork India 2023 Report, which was published on Monday.

The Fairwork India report is compiled by the Centre for IT and Public Policy and the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, in association with Oxford University.

The study said that in BluSmart's first year of participation in the ratings, it scored higher than more established platforms in the ride-hailing sector, with 5 points out of 10. "Thus, there is room for cautious optimism that BluSmart’s operational model might represent a step towards better conditions for drivers in the platform economy."

Queries sent to Uber, Amazon and Zomato remained unanswered at the time of publishing. Ola declined to comment.

The study assessed working conditions across five broad parameters: pay, working conditions, contract fairness, management and representation. Each of these 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.

Here's a breakdown:

The report said BigBasket, Flipkart and Urban Company were the only platforms with a minimum wage policy to ensure that all their workers earn at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs.

"No platform made the second point of the Fair Pay principle, which requires platforms to provide sufficient evidence that workers earn at least the local living wage after work-related costs," it said. "However, Urban Company has made a public commitment to ensure that its workers earn at least the local living wage after factoring in work-related costs."

Amazon Flex, BigBasket, BluSmart, Flipkart, Swiggy, Urban Company, Uber, Zepto and Zomato were awarded the first point under the Fair Conditions principle for providing "adequate safety equipment and periodic safety training to their workers".

BigBasket, Swiggy, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato were awarded the second point for providing workers with accident insurance coverage at no additional cost, monetary compensation for income loss in cases where they were unable to work due to medical reasons other than accidents, and ensuring workers' standing was not negatively affected when they returned after a break taken with prior notification given to the platform.

Seven out of 12 platforms—BigBasket, BluSmart, Dunzo, Swiggy, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato—were awarded the first point under this principle, while others, barring Dunzo and Swiggy, also got the second point.

These companies adopted a change notification clause in their contracts, reducing asymmetries in liability, such as a provision to compensate workers for losses due to app malfunctions, adopting a code of conduct for their subcontractors, and making the variables of pricing transparent.

Amazon Flex, BigBasket, BluSmart, Flipkart, Swiggy and Zomato were awarded the first point for the fair management principle for providing due process in decisions affecting workers, and channels for workers to appeal disciplinary actions.

Only BluSmart and Swiggy were given the second point for the principle since they institutionalised the conduct of regular, external audits to check for biases in their work allocation systems, in addition to adopting policies against the discrimination of platform workers.

None of the platforms were awarded a point for representation this year.

"It is disconcerting that despite the rise in platform worker collectivisation across the country, over the past four years, there was insufficient evidence from any platform that showed a willingness to recognise a collective body of workers," Fairwork said.