India: Fairwork report scoring platform companies on five standards of fair work finds they fall short on living wage & fair representation, among other indicators of fair work; incl. cos responses & non-responses
Fairwork has released its 2023 report analysing working conditions for digital platform workers in India. The report evaluates 12 platforms against five standards of fair work: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation. The authors gathered data through desk-based research, evidence provided by platforms, and interviews with workers in Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram. The report focuses on the theme of worker alienation, considering how working conditions – including experiencing caste, class, gender, and religious discrimination – contribute to worker alienation.
The inability to influence, either directly or indirectly, how platforms address the issues that concern workers has contributed to alienation or estrangement. This alienation takes at least three forms: in the relation of labour to the act of production within the labour process; in pitting worker against worker; and in the relation of labour to its product.Fairwork India report, 2023
The 12 platform companies analysed in the report are Amazon Flex, BluSmart, bigbasket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, Porter Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto, and Zomato. The companies are each scored out of 10, with points awarded when there is sufficient evidence the platform fulfils each of the five principles of fair work. Companies received a range of scores, with bigbasket scoring the highest at 6/10.
The findings show some platforms have expressed an interest in creating fairer working conditions for their workers. That said, as no company scored 10/10, no company therefore met all five standards of fair work. In particular, no platform earned a point either for ensuring that workers earn a living wage or for having provisions in place for fair representation.
For the fourth consecutive year, no platform earned a point either for ensuring that workers earn a living wage (Principle 1.2) or for having provisions in place for fair representation (Principle 5). Although platforms are open to addressing the grievances of workers on an individual basis, they refuse to entertain any direct negotiations with collectives on issues that pertain to the workers’ shared interests (such as ensuring a living wage or even the local minimum wage).Fairwork India report, 2023
Alongside the company scores, a survey of 963 consumers was conducted to analyse perceptions of working conditions in 12 major cities. The survey showed significant support for the issues raised in the Fairwork principles in the largest cities, highlighting support for better working conditions in the platform economy.
In December, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Amazon Flex, BluSmart, bigbasket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto, and Zomato to respond to the Fairwork India report. Amazon Flex and Zomato’s responses can be read in full below. BluSmart, bigbasket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company and Zepto did not respond.