The 2024 Fairwork India Ratings have revealed a concerning trend for major ride-hailing platforms Uber and Ola, as well as logistics startup Porter, which continue to lag at the bottom of the index designed to assess the fairness with which companies treat their gig workers. In stark contrast, Tata-owned BigBasket, Zomato, Swiggy, and Urban Company topped the ratings, mirroring last year's results.

This year's study evaluated 11 platforms, including Amazon Flex, BluSmart, Flipkart, and Zepto, and scored them based on five key principles: pay, working conditions, contract fairness, management, and representation. Notably, no platform achieved more than six out of a possible 10 points, and none earned full points across all five principles, according to the Fairwork India 2024 Report published on Tuesday.

On the principle of pay, only BigBasket and Urban Company received points for implementing a minimum wage policy that ensures their workers earn at least the local hourly minimum wage, accounting for work-related costs.

A significant concern highlighted in the report is the lack of representation for gig workers. Despite numerous instances of protests and strikes advocating for worker rights, platforms in India have yet to formally recognize or engage in negotiations with workers’ collectives. This absence of recognition has resulted in no platform receiving points for representation.

Compiled by the Centre for IT and Public Policy and the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore in collaboration with Oxford University, the Fairwork India report sheds light on the ongoing challenges faced by gig workers in India, emphasizing the need for improved labor practices and fair treatment in the gig economy.