Labour codes to ensure social security for millions of gig workers in India, says Mandaviya — Here’s all we know

The Centre will ensure gig workers in India have access to social security schemes through the Labour Codes, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, PTI reported.

Responding during Question Hour last week, the minister noted that the gig worker system is a newly emerging and cited a Niti Aayog report that they comprise some 80 lakh workers in India. He further stated that close to 10 lakh of these gig workers have been registered on the Centre’s e-Shram portal.

“I want to assure the House that social security of gig workers will be ensured through implementation of the provisions made in Labour Codes for safeguarding their interests,” he stated.

‘Govt to ensure social security for gig workers’

According to Mandaviya, the government will ensure social security for gig workers via implementation of the labour codes. He stated that under these codes:

• On a query about the Code on Wages, Mandaviya said that this empowers central and state governments to fix, review, revise and enforce the minimum rates of wages for establishments falling under their respective jurisdiction.
• “The Code on Wages, 2019, which has been made effective from 21 November 2025, has made floor wage a statutory provision. The Code on Wages, 2019 stipulates that the minimum rates of wages fixed by the appropriate governments shall not be less than the floor wage,” Mandaviya stated.
• He added that to address inflation and rising cost of living, the Centre revises Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) on basic rates of minimum wages every six months, effective from 1 April and 1 October annually, based on the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) data.

What are the four Labour Codes?

The labour codes are — the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

These four labour codes came into effect from 21 November 2025 and the Centre notified the corresponding Central Rules on 8 May 2026.

The minister added that labour is a concurrent subject in the Constitution, and thus the Centre and state governments are responsible for implementation and enforcement of labour laws within their respective jurisdictions.

In his update, the minister said that various states are now also in the process of notifying their respective rules under the new labour codes.