The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union conducted surveys with gig and platform workers working on digital platforms such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy, and Flipkart to understand their perspectives on diverse types of worker collectives, including gig and platform worker unions and platform cooperative societies. The surveys were conducted with 79 workers, who had worked in the sector for a median of 5 years. 51% of the workers were members of TGPWU.

Through the survey, TGPWU gained insight on workers’ perspectives relating to the type and effectiveness of various union structures, priority of union demands, and their interest in joining cooperative societies.

This report highlights key findings from the survey, some of which detailed below:
ーWorkers had a high preference for collective structures that are democratically owned and controlled by workers, with 75% of them expressing interest in joining a cooperative society.
ーOut of several worker support services that cooperative societies can offer, priority services that workers highlighted were healthcare services, insurance services, and educational support for children of members.
ー46% of workers each cited independent unions, and unions that were affiliated with another trade union as their preferred forms of union structures.
ー66% of workers placed high importance on union demands that focus on both platforms and governments.

TGPWU hopes to gather learnings from this survey and continue to build an in-depth understanding of workers’ perspectives, preferences, and needs relating to collective structures. Learnings from this survey will also aid TGPWU around potential ways forward towards developing collective structures and services for workers.

Download the full report to read more.