ESIC may cover gig economy workers as part of new Social Security Code Bill

Workers employed in the gig economy may soon be eligible for insurance benefits provided by the state-run Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The move is a part of the Social Security Code Bill, 2019 approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. The Code has also proposed covering plantation workers under the ESIC for the first time.

The government has made an enabling provision in the code to provide insurance cover, under the ESI schemes, to gig, platform and plantation workers. This is the first time such workers will be covered under India’s social security law. Gig workers are usually spoken of