The platform economy needs more than a new labour law

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Editor's note: The app-based gig economy emerged as a disruptor almost a decade ago. Today, it’s crumbling under its own weight, exposing millions of workers to the uncertainties of the future. Platforms such as Uber, Swiggy and UrbanClap were seen as the future of work by many, but as the gig economy scaled up, it also developed several fault lines. The sheer pace of expansion didn’t give enough time for policymakers to devise guidelines to shape its growth. Workers’ incomes have fallen, they have become slaves to algorithms and have no way out.  Regulatory intervention seems to be the need of the hour. And ever since the California state government in the US passed the famous Assembly Bill 5, or AB5, there have been increased calls for similar policy action across the world. The law has the potential to reclassify a lot of workers in the platform economy space as employees from independent contractors and hence could mark the beginning of the end for the gig economy as we know. In India, the Karnataka state government is close to drafting a new …