Ola, Uber, Swiggy & Zomato Workers Filed Petition in Supreme Court for Their Social Security Benefits

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court today praying for social security benefits for gig employees working for companies such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy and Zomato. It also asks that the court acknowledges that these companies have breached the rights of their gig workers by restricting the manner in which they utilize their platforms.

The petition was submitted through the Indian Federation of App-based Transportation Workers, a worker's union that advocates for the rights of gig-workers working for companies such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy and Zomato as well as other companies.

The union in the petition claims that they fall within what is known as "unorganised people" in India's unorganised Worker Social Welfare Security Act 2008 . They are therefore entitled to social security benefits. Since this hasn't been the case in the past the union feels "exploited".

"Denial the social insurance benefits to those referred to as "gig workers" as well as the "platform worker" has led to the exploitation of these workers through forced labor in accordance with Section 23 of our Constitution. The right to live is the ability to earn a living under fair and decent conditions of employment," the plea said.

Workers who work as gigs in India have complained for years about their uncertain earnings and a poor base wage and an algorithm is said to force them to travel hundreds of kilometers every day for very little cash. All this with little or none social security benefits, like gig workers around the world.

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In the year 2000, India enacted the Code on Social Security, 2020 that promises to increase benefits from social security to those who work, but is not yet in place.

It also said that platforms have total control over how users are able to use their apps, even claiming that the relationship is only supposed to consist between "partners".

"The simple fact that employers label their own "aggregators" and have entered into"partnership" agreements, doesn't negate the reality that there is an official relationship between employer and employee, master and servant as well as worker in the sense of the law," the petition said.

The petition has been resolved with the Senior Advocates Indira Jaising as well as Gayatri Sing. The petition was filed by Advocate-on-Record Nupur Kumar.

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Latest Startup IPO News - Freshworks and Pine Labs

Freshworks Startup Financials

Freshworks Inc. is planning to raise nearly $1 billion through a public listing in the US at a valuation of almost $9 billion, which will make it one of the most valuable software-as-a-service (SaaS) startups from India.

Freshworks filed a new filing Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It stated that it will offer 28.5 million Class A shares at prices between $28 and $32. The unicorn hopes to raise $798 million to $912 million via the initial public offering (IPO).

Freshworks has 2 headquarters b/w San Mateo, California (USA) and Chennai (India). Founded in India, most of Freshworks’ technology and operations team is based in the country. 

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Pinelabs Startup Financials

Pine Labs, a merchant platform company, may go public sooner than anticipated. According to regulatory filings, the company passed a resolution to make its Singapore-based holding company public.

This renaming of the company from Pine Labs Pte has resulted in Pine Labs Limited being the new company name. It indicates that preparations for an IPO have begun to gain momentum.

According to Sources, the company will likely list in the US within the next 10-12 month. Although the company has not yet provided details about the issue or valuation, a TOI report estimated that Pine Labs would be seeking a $5 billion valuation for a potential IPO.

The conversion from a private company into a public company has taken place weeks after the closing of its $600m funding round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. Pine Labs raised $285m in May, and another $315 million in July. Sources claimed that the financing round was the final private financing for Pine Labs.

Pine Labs, which would be the fourth fintech company to move closer to a public list, will join Policybazaar, Paytm and Mobikwik. Vijay Shekhar Sharma's firm wants to be one of the largest IPOs with a valuation between $25-30 billion.

Pine Labs was also instrumental in facilitating Sequoia Capital's partial exit via a secondary transaction. Seven investors, including Duro Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Marshall Wace and Lenarco Limited, received shares in the VC firm that were worth $225-$230 millions.

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According to their Linkedin profiles, founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma's brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma and Ripunjai Gaur were elevated to CBO in the last month from senior vice-president positions.

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Latest updates on Online Education

Byju’s Latest Funding News

Byju’s, one of the leading and most valuable edtech companies, valued at $16.5 billion, has reported its revenues for 2019-20 at Rs 2,434 crore while its Indian competitor Unacademy is worth only $3.5 billion. Byju’s revenue has increased to 81 per cent over the previous financial year. The company reported a net profit of Rs 51 crore in 2019-2020 which is a 152 per cent increase from the last financial year.

The company's expenses in the current financial year were Rs 2,383 crore. Byju's founder, Chief Executive Officer Byju Rajeendran, holds 50.34 percent. Riju Ravindran holds 20.15 per cent. Divya Gokulnath is Byju Raveendran’s wife and holds 10.64 percent.

Byju's foreign currency earnings were Rs 306 crore for FY20, compared to Rs 168 crore for FY19.

As the global pandemic has increased the popularity of online education, the company is currently on an acquisition spree both in India and worldwide. While schools and offices are closed, students and professionals are seeking to improve their skills. Sources say that the start-up purchased six companies in India and the US in this year's fiscal year. It spent more than $2B in six months on these acquisitions.

Vedantu Latest News

Vedantu, one of the leading pioneers in LIVE Online Learning have introduced V-Nurture and Super School, which are unique programs that allow students to develop their skills as well as enrich their lives. V-Nurture and Super School are designed by industry professionals and academicians to unleash a student's hidden potential beyond academics. The program offers extra-curricular activities to students in kindergarten through grade 13. It includes a range of curricular activities from career counseling, financial literacy, career counseling to workshops for parents and students.

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V-Nurture offers students in grades 6-13 the opportunity to improve their 21st century skills such as personality development, public speaking and critical thinking. Super School offers live master classes in yoga, storytelling and arts, crafts, STEM, general awareness, and many other subjects, starting at kindergarten through grade 8. All students have free access to top-quality extra-curricular and cocurricular content, taught by experts in their respective fields.

For more updates on latest funding news on Byju’s and Vedantu visit Entrackr.