Diwali- the festival of lights, a time of joy and celebration for many but not all. This year on October 31st, Thursday, a Black Diwali day was witnessed wherein many women gig workers across 11 major Indian cities were on strike. The news was covered by an independent journalist named Greeshma Kuthar.The Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GIPSWU), a women-led gig workers national trade union observed a digital strike today. Many workers refused to work by switching off their phones, in defiance of exploitative platform companies expecting them to work even on government holidays.”This strike is an attempt to unite various gig workers across the country to demand the recognition of their rights which were denied both by exploitative companies as well as the Indian government,” said GIPSWU in a statement.The protest comes at a time when unsafe work environments are just on the brink of problems faced by plenty of women gig workers in India. Some of the common violations that platform companies face include long working hours for lesser than expected minimal wages, steep commissions and enormous pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines among others.Besides these, labour laws to govern platform companies are almost non-existent. They enjoy complete impunity to fix regulations that serve their interests rather than that of workers. When asked about the expectations to be met, GIPSWU’s general secretary Seema Singh said that they (gig workers) are demanding basic worker entitlements such as minimum living wages, health and safety protections specific to women workers such as maternity benefits and menstrual leaves, grievance redressal mechanisms and access to social security.Their strike is to spread awareness of how many women gig workers are among the most vulnerable as a majority of the services they provide require them to enter clients’ private residences. A lot of these workers have faced sexual harassment, denial of bathroom facilities, rude and abusive behaviour, violence and more. However, when such incidents occur, the concerned platform company have been of no help to them. “They also know we are vulnerable, need these jobs to run our families and don’t have the clout to make a fuss even if our dignity is ripped apart. We are striking today, but we intend to organise more strikes regularly. The onus is on the government to get platform companies to treat us right,” shared Selvi M, Vice President of GIPSWU.
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