Shaik Salauddin (IPA: [ʃeɪkˈsælə'ʌdɪn]) has worked with app-based ride-hailing companies since 2012 and has been a driver organizer in Hyderabad since 2014. In his role as an organizer, he founded Telangana Four Wheeler Driver's Association to represent the interests of outsourced, contracted and other private drivers. In 2016, he established the Telangana State Taxi and Drivers' Joint Action Committee, which brought 20 drivers' associations and unions in the state under one organizational umbrella. In 2019 he was elected as the National General Secretary and a co-founder, of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT),[1] a trade union federation of ride-sharing and other gig transport workers. This includes the workers on platforms such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato, Rapido and Dunzo, since 2019.[2] He is also the founder and current president of the Telangana Four Wheeler Drivers' Association.[3]

Shaik Salauddin
Born1985
NationalityIndian
OccupationTrade Union Activist
Years active2014-
OrganizationIndian Federation of App-based Transport Workers
TitleNational General Secretary
Other political
affiliations
  • Telangana Four Wheeler Drivers' Association
  • Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union

In this role, he has helped to advise and coordinate efforts across states, organizing collective action of drivers and delivery workers and meeting policy makers and other stakeholders. He has also been a key petitioner in petitions in the Supreme Court of India supporting platform workers' rights in India intending to avail social security benefits for app-based gig workers.[4][5] He has also coordinated with political parties including the Indian National Congress regarding concerns of the platform based gig workers, especially during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.[6]. In 2022, he started a new organization called Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union (TGPWU).

His active advocacy resulted in bringing key policy reforms and discussions around social security and other rights of the platform-based gig workers, resulting in the Rajasthan Platform-based Gig Workers Bill,[7] followed by the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers Bill.[8] He was recently elected as a board member of the International Alliance of App-based Workers (IAAW). In 2023, he was awarded the Shram Shakti Award by Ch. Malla Reddy, Minister for Labour and Employment, Factories, and Skill Development, Government of Telangana.


References

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  1. ^ "The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers: A case study". China Labour Bulletin. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Meet the Most Powerful Uber Driver in India". pulitzercenter.org. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  3. ^ "'Uber Commute' illegal: Taxi drivers". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Why gig work is so hard to regulate". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  5. ^ Ramani, Priya (17 February 2023). "Shaik Salauddin's dreams for gig economy workers". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  6. ^ Gurmat, Sabah (9 March 2023). "Surveilled and exploited by intrusive technology, workers across India are rising up together". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  7. ^ Minhaz, Ayesha (10 August 2023). "Rajasthan's gig law a step in the right direction, but more needed to protect platform workers". Frontline. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  8. ^ Swamy, Rakshita (22 July 2024). "A case for regulating gig-based work". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 July 2024.