English Language Questions for CLAT | QB Set 20

On New Year’s Eve, one of the most profitable days for app-based platforms, tens of thousands of platform workers across India chose to log out. For workers dependent on daily earnings and burdened by debt and work-related investments, this was not a symbolic act but an existential one. Giving up income on a peak-demand day reflects both the severity of working conditions in the platform economy and the strength of workers’ collective resistance. The strike marks the emergence of a conscious and organised platform workforce determined to pursue regulation, safety, rights, and dignity.

Globally, the regulation of platform work is shifting. In December, the New York City Council passed veto-proof legislation against unfair ID deactivation, mandating due process and rejecting opaque algorithmic decision-making. Similar momentum exists beyond the Global North. Mexico has recognised most platform workers as employees entitled to wages, paid leave, health protections, and profit-sharing. 

Colombia and Chile have moved towards employee classification based on platform control, while Brazil’s Supreme Court has affirmed workers’ rights to health and social security despite classifying them as contractors. These developments indicate a global move towards stronger regulation, focusing on employment rights, wages, transparency, grievance redressal, and safety.

In contrast, India continues to lag. Platform workers here still lack basic safeguards and face hyper-exploitative models such as 10-minute deliveries. Evidence from a PAIGAM study of over 10,000 workers reveals long working hours, low incomes, lack of weekly rest, widespread health issues, workplace violence, and arbitrary ID deactivations. Workers overwhelmingly reject extreme delivery timelines that shift all risk onto them.

The strike also challenges the state’s reluctance to regulate platform companies. Mere inclusion in social security frameworks without enforceable standards is inadequate. The New Year’s Eve strike demonstrates that, even in the digital economy, collective action remains powerful. Logging out has become a new form of resistance, signalling both a warning against unchecked platform capitalism and a promise of organised struggle for dignified work.

[Source: The Hindu, Edited]

Question 1

The New Year’s Eve strike by platform workers is described as “existential” primarily because it
A. involved giving up income on a crucial earning day despite workers’ financial vulnerability
B. aimed to draw international attention to India’s platform economy
C. was supported by middle-class consumers across cities
D. coincided with falling stock prices of platform companies

Question 2

Which of the following best captures the author’s view of recent global regulatory trends regarding platform work?
A. They focus mainly on categorising workers as independent contractors
B. They reflect a growing move towards recognising platform workers as entitled to labour protections
C. They are largely restricted to countries in the Global North
D. They prioritise platform innovation over worker welfare

Question 3

According to the passage, the central issue in the global debate on platform work regulation is
A. whether algorithmic management should be completely banned
B. how quickly governments can respond to technological change
C. whether platform companies should be publicly owned
D. recognising platform workers as workers deserving basic labour rights

Question 4

The PAIGAM study titled “Prisoners on wheels” is cited in the passage mainly to

A. compare earnings between Indian and international platform workers
B. justify investor concerns about platform company profitability
C. highlight the success of platform work as a livelihood option
D. provide empirical evidence of exploitative working conditions

Question 5

By stating that “logging out has emerged as a powerful form of collective action,” the author suggests that

A. digital protests are less disruptive than traditional strikes
B. unions have lost relevance in the modern economy
C. platform workers can adapt traditional labour resistance to digital systems
D. technology has eliminated the need for physical demonstrations

Answer Key

1. A
2. B
3. D
4. D
5. C