The end of the beginning for the gig economy

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Editor's note: In some senses, there’s a parallel endgame being played out in India compared with the US and North America where the gig economy is concerned. (And before you ask, no, neither scenario has been contemplated by Dr Strange.) As Pradip hinted at in his story on the mental and financial strain gig workers face, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the gig economy is the rather crumbly foundation on which billion-dollar businesses are building their delivery empires. And somehow, independent of worker conditions, more and more companies are making plays that seem to be relying on temp workers, as the gig economy moves beyond merely Uber, Lyft and Instacart in North America. Yet, I want to argue, we are at a crossroads vis-a-vis the gig economy and everything that surrounds it. And it’s like Winston Churchill famously said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Exhibit 1: The murmurs of discontent around big tech using gig economy workers About three weeks ago, Amazon announced …