Overview

• Lawmakers approved the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2025, replacing an earlier ordinance.
• The statute establishes a Gig Workers’ Welfare Board with worker, platform and civil society representation, creates a welfare fund, mandates registration for workers and aggregators, and sets up a dispute-resolution mechanism.
• The government is empowered to charge a 1–5% welfare fee on platforms to be levied on each payout to workers, with final rates set in rules and varying by aggregator category.
• Coverage spans eight service categories—ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, logistics, e‑marketplaces, professional services, healthcare, travel and hospitality, and content and media—affecting roughly four lakh workers in Karnataka.
• The Labour Minister said the framework sits outside the Industrial Disputes Act and the Minimum Wages Act, with benefits and working-condition safeguards delivered through the board and the fund.