Gig workers and those with flexible employment in India face high exposure to workplace safety risks but have limited access to insurance, safety training, and mechanisms to report concerns, according to a new report "Occupational Safety and Health of Platform-based Gig Workers in India".
The new report published by a labour rights organisation and Gig Workers Association was released in September 2026 and is based on a survey of 1000 gig workers across 10 Indian cities. The report was jointly produced by labour rights organisation Janpahal and gig workers’ body Gig Workers Association.
Extreme heat emerged as one of the most widespread risks. Among the 778 workers who reported working in extreme weather, 96.57% said heat affected their ability to work, while 75.5% reported a moderate-to-severe impact on their productivity and safety. Heat-related health problems included exhaustion, dehydration, and severe overheating.
Despite the risks, 62.2% of the workers surveyed did not have health insurance and 44.2% did not have accident insurance. Among workers who had attempted to make an accident insurance claim, more than 80% found the process difficult.
The report findings reveal that these findings suggest that responsibility for managing occupational risk is largely individualised, with limited institutional support from platforms or effective linkage to social security mechanisms.
The report reveals that a substantial section of platform workers are missing out on formal recognition and access to crucial social security benefits, such as health insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and accident insurance under the PM Suraksha Bima Yojana. Beyond these, non-registration also limits access to a wider range of protections envisioned under the Code on Social Security, 2020, which now explicitly includes gig and platform workers within its ambit.
Roads are a major source of risk for workers. Among those who reported experiencing safety incidents, 62.2% had experienced a near-miss with a vehicle, while 38% reported injuries due to road conditions and 27.5% reported traffic accidents.