In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress party plans to reach out to over eight million gig workers and provide them with a platform to raise their issues, Praveen Chakravarty, the newly appointed chief of the All India Professional Congress (AIPC), said on Sunday.
Mr. Chakravarty, who replaced Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor as the AIPC’s head, told The Hindu that he would expand the conventional definition of professionals to include people engaged in the gig economy.
“I actually call them gig professionals, not workers. There are 80 lakh people in the gig economy and that’s more than all the professionals employed by the formal sector companies on the stock exchange,” he said.
In the last few years, the gig economy has become a source of livelihood for lakhs of people through various enterprises, including Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, the Urban Company, and others.
However, these self-employed individuals are designated as “partners” by the companies, rendering them ineligible for any social security or benefit to which employees are entitled.
The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan brought in a law to provide social security to gig workers by setting up welfare boards; the Congress has promised a similar law in Karnataka as well. The Social Security Code 2020 too brought gig workers within its ambit but it’s yet to be implemented on the ground.
“So, we want to do two things. First, we want to provide them a platform where they can raise their issues. It doesn’t have to be confrontational. Often, you need someone to negotiate and strike a balance between what I call as capital and labour. And second, provide a platform for volunteers, for people who want to contribute to the party,” Mr. Chakravarty said.
The new AIPC chief’s priorities include a tenfold increase in membership for the six-year-old AIPC along the main political themes of the Congress and the INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) bloc, and creating digital volunteers and a new organisational structure.
“As we move towards the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, we want our members to become opinion makers and social media influencers on our policy and politics,” Mr. Chakravarty said.
