National social security board for gig workers soon, says Maharashtra Minister

Maharashtra Labour Minister Akash Fundkar on Saturday (February 28, 2026) said the Centre has introduced a social security code for gig and platform workers with a provision to set up a national social security board for their welfare.

The Minister informed the Legislative Assembly that the board, which will be established soon, will provide healthcare, insurance and family welfare benefits to such workers.

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The Centre has directed all States to follow and implement the provisions of the code, he said. Mr. Fundkar was responding to a question by Congress MLA Hemant Ogle and a supplementary query from BJP’s Atul Bhatkhalkar.

“Gig and platform workers never had the status of workers and were considered business partners with delivery-based payments. For the first time, the social security code, which has been effective since November 2025, has defined the status of gig and platform workers,” he said during the Question Hour.

When the national social security board is established, the State-specific laws made in Rajasthan and Karnataka will lapse, he said.

In another reply, Mr. Fundkar said that the State Government is in touch with officials from the National Textile Corporation to pay the pending dues of workers from its closed mills in Mumbai.

Read | High and dry: On gig workers, social security

Responding to a question from Congress MLA Jyoti Gaikwad and a supplementary query by Shiv Sena’s Dilip Lande, he said meetings are being held with central officials, and options such as settlement are also being explored.

The dues will be cleared within a year as per the directions of the Bombay High Court, he added. The Minister noted that four NTC mills in Mumbai remained shut after the COVID-19 pandemic, and workers’ unions moved the industrial court and high court to get their wages.