Karnataka app-based workers union to legally oppose attempt to strike down Gig Workers Act

The Karnataka App-based Workers Union (KAWU) is planning to file an intervention application at the Karnataka High Court to become party to the case filed against the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, and defend the law, the Union leadership announced. 

Aggregators including Swiggy, Zepto, Zomato, and Urban Company, and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) recently moved the High Court of Karnataka challenging the constitutional validity of the law.

Emphasising that the Union will not let companies “strip away basic human dignities like health security, accident cover and fair grievance redressal”, Mohammad Inayat Ali, President – KAWU, said, “We will enter the legal battlefield, implead ourselves in this petition, and ensure the voice of the workers ring loud and clear in the High Court.” 

“The attempt by multi-billion-dollar aggregators to declare this welfare Act ‘unconstitutional’ is a direct attack on the survival and dignity of millions of workers who form the backbone of the digital economy. While platforms pocket massive profits, the workers face extreme heat, road hazards and zero financial stability,“ he further alleged.

The welfare fee from aggregators and platforms operating in Karnataka towards the social security of gig workers is due on July 5, 2026. As per the February 2026 notification by the State government, the aggregators are liable to pay the fee for the quarter covering April, May and June, in July. 

The Union contended that the petitioners’ argument claiming that the law is repugnant to Centre’s Code on Social Security (COSS), 2020, is merely a “delay tactic to evade corporate responsibility.”