Karnataka Labour Department sets up gig workers’ welfare board, mandates aggregator fee

The Karnataka Labour Department on Tuesday constituted a 16-member welfare board to extend social security benefits to gig workers, enabling platform aggregators to deposit their share of the welfare fee with the board, as reported by Deccan Herald.

Under the framework, all aggregators will be required to pay a welfare fee in the range of 1 to 1.5 per cent. The Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers Welfare Board has been established in accordance with provisions of the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Act, 2025.

The board includes five government representatives, comprising Labour Minister Santosh Lad, the principal secretaries of the labour and information technology departments, the commissioner of the industries department and the chief executive officer of the board.

In addition, the board comprises four representatives of gig workers from unions, four representatives from aggregators, two members with expertise in the gig economy and one technical expert with experience in areas such as data storage and information technology.

Following the formation of the board, both aggregators and gig workers will be required to register with it. Aggregators will have a 45-day window to complete their registration and submit data relating to all gig workers registered on their platforms.