NEW DELHI, April 29 -- "We are forced to work for straight ten hours, standing on our feet, without any seating arrangement. If we fail to do so, we are fired within moments," says an employee, if it can be termed employment at all. She works with an e-commerce giant in Delhi-NCR. The story was covered in a widely circulated magazine a few months ago.

Many such people are hired on contracts of three to eleven months to suit the company's emerging needs. The company has a history of registering huge profits yearly, yet it pays its workers a pittance. It also must be mentioned that they aren't covered under the government's social security schemes.

The story is not limited to one company or the other or to a particular sector. Be it the m...