THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Exactly a year after the Goa government promised a comprehensive policy to regulate gig workers, the proposal has disappeared into official silence, with reportedly no draft, timeline or public update.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had assured the House that the policy would be framed within six months, saying it would involve the Home, Labour and Food and Drugs Administration departments as the issue touched on law and order, public health and employment. He also announced that registration and police verification would be mandatory for all gig workers operating in the State.
The assurance came after a joint Calling Attention motion by Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao and MLAs Vijay Sardesai, Altone D'Costa, Viresh Borkar, Carlos Ferreira, Cruz Silva and Venzy Viegas. The legislators raised concerns over reports that more than 8,000 delivery workers had been brought into Goa from neighbouring States by app-based platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy and Blinkit, many using non-Goa-registered two-wheelers. They questioned the impact on local employment and sought safeguards to ensure platform companies operated in line with Goa's economic and social interests.
Responding then, Labour Minister Atanasio Monserrate had maintained that gig workers operate as self-employed, commission-based delivery partners and therefore do not fall under existing labour legislation. At the time, he informed the House that 862 gig workers were enrolled on the Centre's e-Shram portal during a special registration drive conducted between April 7 and April 17, 2025.
The government had further assured that concerns over non-Goa-registered delivery vehicles would be examined by the Transport Department.
Twelve months later, those assurances have not translated into a visible policy even as it is under examination by the Assurance Committee of the Goa Legislative Assembly.
The issue also seems to have dropped off the Opposition's agenda, with no political push reported over the past year despite the missed deadline.
The inaction has become more striking in recent months as rising fuel prices squeezed delivery workers' earnings. Many gig workers, most of them migrants from neighbouring States, said higher operating costs had left them with shrinking daily incomes while the pressure to complete more deliveries only intensified.
