Dear readers,

The platform and gig economy encompasses a wide array of jobs from the ubiquitous ride-hailing and food delivery services to instant groceries, on-demand toys and domestic workers. Now intertwined into city life, it is not only redefining the way we live but also the meaning of work, societal relationships, and, at its core, people’s right to the city. With gross volumes of India’s platform and gig economy at a staggering Rs 4.5 lakh crore last year, contributing 1.25 percent to India’s GDP, and projected to soon ‘employ’ 90 million people, the emphasis is generally on its valuation and founders. But who are the millions of foot soldiers of this economy, how do they work, what are their rights, how have they fought back, how do women cope are all questions that we explore in this edition of Question of Cities.

Nitesh Kumar Das, development professional and organising secretary of the Gig Workers Association, and researcher Anusha Bhat explore the relationship between platform workers and the city. India has an astounding 7.7 million gig and platform workers in official records but could well be three times that. Yet, the relationship between them and the city is as fraught as their relationship with the platforms. While the focus on the latter is needed, the lack of resting stops, cooling facilities, shaded areas, clean bathrooms, drinking water, and safer streets for women is the work of governments. But this is not merely about the infrastructure; it’s about workers’ rights and justice. The engaging illustrations by Nikeita Saraf highlight their plight. Read it here.

It took nearly ten years, collectivisation, and dogged unionising for the drivers of aggregator taxis at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad to even get a resting room for themselves. Their fight for other basic amenities continues. But, as Shaik Salauddin, Founder President of Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, and Mohd Abdul Mazhar Afsar, a member of the union, ask in this essay, why are resting and parking spaces with minimum facilities not an intrinsic part of the multi-crore airport construction when taxis are an integral aspect of airport operations. Read it here.

Women gig workers form a small section of the expanding platform and gig economy which will reportedly provide 90 million jobs in India but the structure is hardly women-friendly. “Even educated women have a lot of challenges when navigating the interfaces and the systems when it comes to platform work,” says Aditi Surie, researcher and Professor at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements, in an interview to QoC. Surie stresses that all forms of women’s work have to be recognised, and outlines the shifts in women’s roles in the gig economy with a call to safeguard their livelihood and dignity. Read it here.

The platform and gig economy took a leap into the unorganised domestic help sector in March when advertisements promised ‘maids’ at a mere Rs 49 an hour. It swung the focus on a sector that goes below the radar across India’s cities – domestic work that is critical to households but suffers from low wages, no perks, exploitation and even abuse. Climate campaigner Amruta SN and urban researcher Shalaka examine the implications of platforming of the work and Team QoC collates a number of voices from domestic workers in Delhi, Mumbai, Thane, Guwahati, Belagavi, Bhubaneswar, and Pune on this aspect. Read it here.

This insightful and evocative paper by Ashwin Marathe, a senior at Columbia University studying history and political science, traces the arc of the exploitation and abuse faced by South Asian domestic workers in the United States, and the building of collective organisations that made them visible and led to the first law against domestic worker abuse in 2010 that protects over 2,00,000 workers. The organisations were about rights but they also reconceptualised what it meant to be a part of the South Asian diaspora. Read the edited excerpt of the paper. Read it here.

In our regular section, News Digest, read about the top liveable European cities; sunstroke is now a ‘state specific disaster’ in Telangana; and how São Paulo’s temporary theatre turned into a safe public space.

Hope you find this edition engaging and worthwhile. We would love to hear from you at  [email protected]. If you haven’t yet subscribed to Question of Cities, do so here and share our work on X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Thank you,
Smruti
April 18, 2025