Algorithms Now Decide Wages, Work, Punishment in India’s App Economy
A new study on gig workers employed through digital platforms has found that app-based companies are using algorithms to make decisions about pay, work assignments and punishment without offering any explanation or way to appeal. The system deprives workers of basic rights, treats them as disposable and creates conditions that must be called out as unjust and dangerous.
Bonded Labor Law Exists in India, But Millions Still Work in Servitude
India outlawed bonded labour nearly 50 years ago, but millions remain trapped in exploitative working conditions, according to a new report by a workers’ rights network, which has accused the government of neglecting its legal duty to enforce protections and support victims.
New Labour Codes Weaken Worker Rights, Undermining Industrial Democracy
Industrial units with fewer than 300 workers in India no longer need government approval for layoffs under the new labour codes. This change removes key legal protections for most employees, shifting the law’s focus away from security and collective rights in the workplace.
How AI Is Changing Work Habits, Aspirations Among Young Indian Employees
The Indian workplace is undergoing a major psychological and structural reset, and artificial intelligence is at the heart of it. A new study shows that employees now use AI not only to work more efficiently, but also as a daily companion, career guide and thinking partner. This is especially true for younger professionals who are redefining what success, identity and purpose mean in their careers.
India’s Services Sector Drives Growth but Fails to Create Secure Jobs
A new report from the government’s think tank NITI Aayog shows that even though services account for more than half of India’s total economic output, they employ less than a third of the country’s workforce. The imbalance signals a deeper structural fault in India’s development model, where growth is accelerating without offering meaningful or secure work to most people.
July 9 Bharat Bandh: Is Discontent Reaching Boiling Point?
A joint forum of 10 central trade unions has called for a nationwide general strike, or “Bharat Bandh,” on July 9 in protest against what it calls the central government’s “anti-worker, anti-farmer, and anti-national pro-corporate policies.” With over 250 million (25 crore) workers expected to join from several critical sectors, the strike could be one of the most significant confrontations between the government and the country’s organised and unorganised workforce in recent years.
India’s Small and Medium Hospitals Need Their Own UPI Moment
As the government marks 10 years of the Digital India programme and celebrates progress in connectivity and service delivery, a critical gap remains in healthcare. Small and medium hospitals (SMHs) across the country still rely on paper records and disjointed processes, lacking even the most basic digital systems. If India wants its digital push to reach the millions who depend on these hospitals, it must create a public health infrastructure that is simple, affordable and practical, just as UPI was for financial services.
Supreme Court: Law Needed to Protect Domestic Workers’ Rights
The Supreme Court noted the absence of statutory safeguards for millions of domestic workers in India and directed the Union government to consider passing a protective law. The court observed that this workforce remains exposed to exploitation and poor conditions without proper legal rights.
Illegal Mining in Assam’s Dima Hasao Costing Lives
Three people have been confirmed dead, and one body had been recovered as of Jan. 8, two days after at least nine miners became trapped in a flooded “rat hole” coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. The incident resembles several similar accidents over recent years, despite numerous protests by local residents. The issue persists.