Research & Work

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    From our grassroots research partners: Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers

    2020 Law and public policySocial protection and urban inclusionWorking conditions and worker wellbeingFrom our grassroots research partners

    In 2019 and 2020, the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation conducted 5 waves of surveys with app-based transport workers. IFAT gathered over 12,000 responses on workplace conditions and experiences with policy interventions, presented in a series of survey reports. In 2020, IFAT explored worker support responses to the outbreak of Covid-19 by platform companies, trade unions, and governments during the lockdown. Prior to this, in 2019, IFAT conducted surveys across 6 major cities to determine the occupational health and safety of app-based transport workers, factors driving their poor occupational health, and the coverage of health and social protections for workers.

    Team members

    • Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers
    • International Transport Workers’ Federation, New Delhi
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    From our grassroots research partners: Self Employed Women's Association

    2022 Gender and sexualityCollectives and collective actionFrom our grassroots research partners

    This report highlights findings from action research done by the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) with their collectives of informal women workers. SEWA maps the experiences of the women’s collective enterprises, their capacities, and their challenges in using corporate and government digital procurement platforms. The report presents an opportunity for platforms and policymakers to introduce gender-responsive procurement policies that support informal women workers.

    Team members

    • SEWA Cooperative Federation
    • Salonie Muralidhara Hiriyur
    • Ilaben
    • Mahiben
    • Amishaben
    • Minaxiben
    • Payalben
    • Chiara Furtado
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    From our grassroots research partners: All India Gig Workers' Union

    2024 Law and public policyWorking conditions and worker wellbeingCollectives and collective actionFrom our grassroots research partners

    The All India Gig Workers' Union shared a series of on-ground narratives around their experiences of organising and advocating for platform workers' rights in India. In an essay by Nihira Ram, she shares findings from a survey done with more than 50 migrant workers living in a slum in Bengaluru, highlighting the impact that diluted rights and rising exploitation have had on the workers. Rikta Krishnaswamy, in her essay, narrates experiences of organising delivery workers’ collective action against Fraazo. Her essay sheds light on the challenges workers face in organising for better conditions of work, where platforms hide behind legal smokescreens and obscure work management systems. Finally in a policy brief, AIGWU present their critique of NITI Aayog’s report on India’s platform economy. They highlight fallacies in the report that disregard workers’ experiences, and present alternative recommendations that offer pathways towards just futures for workers in the platform economy.

    Team members

    • W C Shukla
    • Rikta Krishnaswamy
    • Rohin Garg
    • Gunjan Jena
    • S B Natarajan
    • Nihira Ram
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    From our grassroots research partners: Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union

    2024 Work relations and value chainsCollectives and collective actionFrom our grassroots research partners

    Workers on app-based platforms have been at the forefront of organising for collective action and fighting for their rights. What are their views on the directions towards building solidarity and worker power? In 2023, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union conducted research on platform workers’ perspectives around collectives, particularly unions and cooperative societies. As part of engagement around this research, we heard from community leaders on envisioning collective structures for platform workers, involving insights on principles, practice, and policy. These included community-led strategies towards building and supporting collectives, potential challenges in sustaining them, and learnings from ongoing efforts to build cooperatives.

    Team members

    • Shaik Salauddin
    • Palak Gadhiya
    • Salonie Muralidhara Hiriyur
    • Sapni G K
    • Nishkala Sekhar
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    Worker-centred policy imaginations for the platform economy

    2024 Working conditions and worker wellbeingLaw and public policySocial protection and urban inclusion

    The emergence of the platform precariat calls for a critical re-imagination of frameworks across policy fora including labour, skilling, social protection, urban inclusion, data protection, and sectoral policy. This collection of opinion pieces and policy submissions argues for a worker justice lens to policy, jurisprudential, regulatory, and legislative processes in the platform economy.

    Team members

    • Aayush Rathi
    • Abhishek Sekharan
    • Ambika Tandon
    • Chetna V M
    • Chiara Furtado
    • Nishkala Sekhar
    • Sriharsha Devulapalli
    • Amruta Mahuli

    Supported by

    • Internet Society Foundation
    • Association for Progressive Communications
    • CIS Logo

    Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes critical, community-focused research on internet and digital technologies from a human rights and public interest lens. The areas of focus at CIS include digital rights and inclusion, freedom of expression, access to knowledge, digital and internet governance, data rights, labour rights, and social justice.

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