The study employed a qualitative exploratory approach, gathering primary data through semi-structured interviews with 14 gig workers involved in food and grocery delivery, freelancing, teaching and taxi driving across urban and peri-urban areas of Kashmir. Participants were recruited through purposive non-probability sampling and had all been engaged in gig work for at least twelve months. Thirteen of the fourteen participants were male, reflecting gendered limitations in mobility and access to technology, and most were young, unmarried and educated to secondary or higher-secondary level. Interviews were conducted in English, Urdu or Kashmiri according to participant preference, transcribed verbatim, translated with careful cross-checking, and analyzed using NVivo 12 software with reflexive thematic analysis.

The analysis identified six interrelated dimensions shaping the gig workers’ experiences: income instability, platform control mechanisms, lack of social security, perceived flexibility of work, region-specific uncertainties and coping strategies. Income instability emerged as the most frequently reported concern, mentioned 31 times across the interviews. Workers described monthly earnings that fluctuated dramatically with season, day of the week and platform demand, meaning that even full-time engagement did not guarantee a predictable livelihood. One food and grocery delivery worker explained that there were weeks when he could cover all household expenses comfortably and weeks when he barely made half of what he needed, forcing him to give up his own necessities during sparse periods and leaving him unable to plan anything.

Platform control mechanisms, cited 24 times, constituted the second dominant theme. Participants complained about opaque task allocation, commission rates that changed without warning, and rating systems that penalized them without explanation or any possibility of appeal. A taxi driver described the algorithms as a black box, noting that a single bad rating could tank his assignments for a week straight and that he could not negotiate anything or appeal any decision. A freelancer reported that his share of earnings dropped from 60 percent to 40 percent between months without notification, describing the experience as balancing on a wire that keeps moving. These accounts align with international scholarship on algorithmic management, which characterizes digital platforms as exercising organizational control through technology rather than direct supervision, shifting power decisively toward the platform.

The absence of social security haunted nearly every conversation. Workers reported no health benefits, no paid leave, no protection from sudden account bans and no formal grievance mechanisms to fall back on during illness, accidents or periods of forced inactivity. A teacher participant stated that if she got sick, she did not earn, with zero health coverage and zero sick leaves, and that every task felt temporary, an uncertainty that impacted her mental health. A taxi driver compared gig work to walking on ice, where any little error could ruin everything, in stark contrast to formal jobs that offer some protection. The researchers interpret these findings through the lens of Risk Shift Theory, which holds that economic and employment risks once borne by employers are now transferred to individual workers, a transfer felt most acutely in regions where alternative livelihoods are few.

Yet the picture is not uniformly bleak. Perceived flexibility, mentioned 15 times, was described as a core advantage of gig work. Workers valued the ability to choose when and how much to work, which allowed students and part-time employees to manage education, family duties and other commitments. A delivery worker explained that the freedom to arrange her schedule around household needs and childcare would not be possible in an office job, and that when income was uncertain, the ability to manage her schedule was priceless. However, participants consistently noted that this autonomy was limited by platform incentives and changing demand rather than constituting true independence, echoing the scholarly argument that gig work is fraught with a contradiction between autonomy and insecurity rather than being either freedom or exploitation.

The study also documented how gig work contributes to the regional economy, a theme raised 13 times. Participants noted that platforms provide services such as food delivery, grocery delivery, ride-hailing, home repair and tutoring that would otherwise be scarce in Kashmir, where formal service systems are weak. Gig work creates income opportunities for young people and students, easing short-term unemployment, and helps local businesses gain visibility and reach more customers through digital channels. A taxi driver described feeling part of something bigger, earning while supporting the community and learning skills such as time management and customer handling. A freelancer emphasized that the work opened opportunities for people who cannot find stable employment, allowing them to gain experience without leaving their hometown.

Coping strategies, mentioned 10 times, revealed considerable worker agency in the face of structural constraints. Participants described working across multiple platforms simultaneously, diversifying the services they offered, monitoring peak demand times, adjusting their schedules, and relying on informal peer networks to exchange tips about areas, difficult customers and ways to reduce idle time. One taxi driver explained that he used three apps so he always had jobs, learning peak hours and busiest spots to keep his income alive. These adaptive practices demonstrate that gig workers are not passive victims of precarity but actively negotiate the challenges of platform labour, consistent with global research on worker resilience in digital labour markets.

The researchers ground their findings in an integrated theoretical framework combining Regional Labour Market Theory, Regulatory Governance Theory, Digital Labour Theory and Risk Shift Theory. Regional Labour Market Theory explains why Kashmiris enter and remain in gig work: the presence of very few formal job opportunities, lack of industrialization, high youth unemployment and economic uncertainty leave few alternatives. Regulatory Governance Theory describes the institutional context, where limited or unclear labour protections allow platforms to exert significant control over terms of engagement, payment and dispute settlement. Digital Labour Theory explains how platform technologies structure task allocation, pricing, visibility and performance evaluation, while Risk Shift Theory accounts for the personal experience of wage fluctuations, low-demand periods and work continuity uncertainty. The framework traces a chain from regional labour market conditions and regulatory structures through digital governance and work organization to the distribution of economic risks and, ultimately, workers’ employment experiences and coping strategies.

The study situates itself within India’s broader gig economy trajectory. According to NITI Aayog, India had approximately 7.7 million gig and platform workers in 2020-21, with an expected increase to 23.5 million by 2029-30, driven by digital penetration, smartphone access and the platformization of service sectors. In Kashmir, however, the implications of platformization differ because of variability in employment opportunities, infrastructure, demand for services and institutional conditions across territories. The authors argue that gig work should not be considered merely a technological phenomenon but a socioeconomic transformation shaped by local rules, governance gaps and regional problems, pushing the discussion about gig labour beyond metropolitan economies and the global north.

The findings carry significant implications for platform managers, policymakers and workers themselves. Platform managers are urged to recognize that opaque algorithms, changing fees and poor complaint mechanisms make workers feel unsafe, and that transparent task assignments, predictable earnings and accessible dispute resolution can build trust and platform longevity. Policymakers are called upon to create region-sensitive labour rules that account for the situations of gig workers in Kashmir, ensuring income adequacy, insurance and accountability without stifling platform flexibility or innovation. The authors recommend stronger regulatory governance, clearer platform rules, social protection that includes all gig workers, training programs and measures to make gig work more accessible to women and younger people.

For workers, the study highlights the importance of adaptive strategies such as using multiple platforms, learning new skills and building peer networks to deal with income changes. Local organizations can help by providing financial advice, skills training and information about workers’ rights. Consumers and local businesses also influence working conditions through fair ratings and responsible engagement. The authors acknowledge limitations, noting that the participant group was mostly male, providing little information about how women experience gig work in Kashmir, and that the single-region qualitative design limits generalizability. Future research should compare regions, include more women and marginalized groups, and follow workers over time to understand how gig employment evolves in areas where the labour market is weak.

In conclusion, the study portrays the gig economy in Kashmir as a labour system that increases access to jobs while normalizing vulnerability. The delicate equilibrium between flexibility and security, innovation and regulation, and technology and well-being will shape the future of gig work. With proper structure and oversight, the authors argue, the sector can shift from being a risky way to earn a living into a stable and useful path that helps people earn money, grow their skills and support the local economy, ensuring that no one is left behind in the changing world of work.

Subject of Research: Gig economy labour dynamics and work culture among informal platform workers in Kashmir

Article Title: Gig informal workers and changing work culture in Kashmir

Article References: Sofi, S. A., Najar, S. A., Zargar, W. A., Gani, S. H., Qureshi, F., Amoozegar, A., Khawaja, S., Ahmad, L., Tilwani, S. A., & Khan, B. A. (2026). Gig informal workers and changing work culture in Kashmir. Discover Global Society, 4(1), Article 276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-026-00606-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44282-026-00606-0

Keywords: gig economy, informal workers, Kashmir, platform labour, algorithmic management, social security, income instability, digital labour, labour policy, qualitative research, NVivo, work flexibility

The scale of the phenomenon is considerable. India is the region’s largest hub, with a gig workforce of roughly 7.7 million that the government think tank NITI Aayog projects will reach 23.5 million by 2029–30. Bangladesh holds the second-largest gig workforce in South Asia, while in Sri Lanka platform work functions mainly as a supplementary income source within the informal economy. Pakistan’s online gig work accounts for 2.9 percent of total employment, and the overwhelming majority of those workers, 97.1 percent, are engaged in physical, platform-based activities rather than remote digital tasks. According to a 2025 report by the International Labour Organization, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan together account for nearly half of the world’s platform workers. These figures place South Asia at the centre of a global transformation in how work is organised, mediated, and remunerated.

The economics of platform labour reveal a sharp asymmetry between corporate revenue and worker earnings. The review notes that Zomato alone earned Rs 2,604 crores, about 27.2 million US dollars, in the 2019–20 financial year, and that both Zomato and Swiggy roughly doubled their turnover between 2018–19 and 2019–20. Yet after deducting fuel costs, vehicle loan instalments, and other fixed expenses, food delivery partners in India net approximately Rs 275, or about 2.86 US dollars, per day for eight hours of work. Platforms describe themselves as intermediaries or passive matchmakers and classify workers as independent contractors or partners, a terminology the authors identify as a deliberate strategy to negate the employer–employee relationship and thereby avoid the application of labour law. In practice, platforms retain control over terms and conditions, wages, and performance monitoring, exercising the authority of an employer without bearing its legal obligations.

At the technical heart of this control lies algorithmic management. Customer satisfaction metrics, delivery pace, and service quality are continuously monitored by software systems that rank workers, and those rankings are then used to justify dismissing those labelled as underperforming. Researchers cited in the review describe Uber’s reliance on two forms of algorithmic control: gatekeeping, which screens and monitors who may work, and guiding, which directs how drivers perform their tasks. Algorithmic pay determination, surge pricing, and performance rewards generate pronounced income volatility, forcing workers into contingent, task-based remuneration arrangements. Identification deactivation has become a recurrent disciplinary tool across the region, often applied through opaque and discretionary processes that workers find difficult to understand or contest. The platform design encourages competition and isolation among workers, producing what some scholars call a digital cage that discourages solidarity and collective action, even as workers may perceive themselves as free and self-directed entrepreneurs.

The human costs are severe and increasingly visible. In early January 2026, a Zepto delivery worker in Hyderabad died while rushing to pick up an order under the pressure of ten-minute food and grocery delivery promises. The review records that this was neither the first such death nor likely the last, as workers speed to meet deadlines that directly affect their ratings and efficiency. In Pakistan, the Fairwork assessment of seven platforms spanning ride-hailing, food delivery, e-commerce delivery, and personal care highlights risks ranging from road safety to crime and violence. In Bangladesh, a female worker on the hellotask platform reported that despite relatively better salary and flexibility, access to basic facilities such as sanitation during menstruation, meals, medicines, and childcare depended on maintaining a good relationship with the customer. Nepali gig workers, particularly women, cite flexibility as their main reason for entering the sector, yet the country lacks any legal definition of gig workers, leaving their employment status ambiguous. Sri Lankan workers face intense surveillance, harsh climatic conditions, and the absence of social security provisions.

The theoretical framework of precarity gives these observations analytical coherence. The concept originates with Pierre Bourdieu, who described an existence with no regular timetable, no fixed place of work, and a whole life lived under the sign of the provisional. Judith Butler extended the idea, defining precarity as politically induced conditions in which certain populations suffer from failing social and economic networks of support and become differentially exposed to injury, violence, and death. The authors argue that gig work exemplifies this politically induced character: the insecurity is not merely a by-product of individual platforms but a structural outcome of neoliberal labour restructuring, in which states have curtailed welfare provisions and normalised casual, short-term, and intermittent labour. Crucially, the review finds that technologically mediated precarity overlaps with and intensifies pre-existing social hierarchies of caste, gender, poverty, and religion, positioning platforms as new digital gatekeepers of inequality.

Against these odds, gig workers have organised. In India, unions such as the United Food Delivery Partners’ Union, the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers, and the All India Gig Workers Union have staged protests and collective actions against wage cuts, rising fuel prices, and declining incentives. In Pakistan, groups including the United Platform Workers of Sindh and the Informal Workers Coalition advocate for safety, social security, wage transparency, and an end to algorithmic surveillance. In Bangladesh, traditional unions have supported the Dhaka Ride-sharing Driver Union in demanding an end to police harassment, recognition of app-based riders as workers, a commission reduction from 25 to 10 percent, and tax exemptions. Digital tools are central to this mobilisation: WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, and social media campaigns coordinate strikes, share grievances, and connect workers across geographies. In Hyderabad, personal care workers on the Urban Company platform have built WhatsApp networks that function as whisper networks, warning one another about abusive customers and circulating information about company policies, an informal justice mechanism foregrounding caste, class, and customer–worker power dynamics.

These struggles have begun to yield policy results, though unevenly. India’s Code on Social Security 2020 was the first law in the region to officially recognise gig workers as a distinct category eligible for social security benefits, though critics point to uncertainties in its implementation. At the sub-national level, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Bill of 2024 aims to institutionalise registration and welfare mechanisms, while the Tamil Nadu Platform Based Gig Workers’ Welfare Board, established in 2023, has subsidised e-scooter purchases for 2,000 registered workers and created an insurance programme offering up to Rs 5 lakh for accidental death or total disability, funded by an annual premium of just Rs 105 per worker. The Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers Bill of 2025 goes further, proposing a 1 to 5 percent welfare fee on aggregators and a dedicated welfare board covering more than four lakh workers across ride-sharing, delivery, logistics, healthcare, and hospitality. In Pakistan, the Centre for Labour Research, working with the Fairwork project, has drafted a Platform Workers Protection Bill seeking to extend enforceable labour protections beyond the independent contractor classification. Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka still lack dedicated legislation for gig workers.

The review also draws attention to gendered dimensions of exclusion. India has approximately 4.75 million domestic workers on official records, most of them economically vulnerable women, yet no comprehensive national legislation protects them, despite state-level efforts in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Delhi. Women in gig work face distinct challenges balancing unpredictable schedules with childcare and caregiving responsibilities, and the president of the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union reported facing exploitation, threats of police action, and legal notices after raising complaints. Nevertheless, women workers have actively led mobilisations, including nationwide protests demanding fair wages and social security. The authors conclude that collective worker voice, even in constrained institutional environments, can shape regulatory discourse and public accountability, and they call for reframing the legal category of employee to include gig workers, or creating an expanded worker category with a basic range of workplace rights.

The broader significance of the study lies in its demonstration that platform-mediated precarity reproduces cycles of income volatility, debt exposure, and structural dependency that existing labour law was never designed to address. The authors argue that effective legislative reform must be coupled with institutional oversight and accountability mechanisms, portable social security entitlements, and statutorily enforceable labour standards. They note that platforms consistently resist standardised wages and protections by claiming such measures would undermine flexibility, yet their absence entrenches informality and regulatory arbitrage. While platform cooperatives have been proposed as an alternative model, the authors observe that operational costs and technical constraints limit their viability, and that workers are primarily fighting not for a share of the platforms but for rights, recognition, fair treatment, algorithmic transparency, and welfare policy. For South Asia’s rapidly expanding digital workforce, the trajectory from informal exclusion to formal protection, the review suggests, will depend on whether states match the organising energy of workers with substantive law and rigorous enforcement.

Subject of Research: Precarity, informality, and social security policy for gig and platform workers in South Asia

Article Title: Social (in)security and social policy for gig workers in South Asia

Article References: Pankaj, A. K., & Jha, M. K. (2026). Social (in)security and social policy for gig workers in South Asia. Discover Global Society, 4(1), Article 205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-026-00579-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44282-026-00579-0

Keywords: gig economy, platform workers, South Asia, precarity, algorithmic management, social security, informal labour, labour rights, India, unionisation, social policy, digital labour