Platform-based delivery workers affiliated with the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) on Wednesday called for a nationwide strike to protest against unfair working conditions, low wages and lack of social security, and warned that delivery services could be badly hit during peak hours.
According to food delivery agents, despite spending long hours on the road, their income has declined significantly, leaving them financially strapped.
One delivery agent explained that despite the challenges faced during delivery, employees are often required to remain polite and courteous to customers. He further said that riders have to pay fine if the order is canceled even if the reason is beyond their control.
He told ANI, “We are also involved in the strike. There are many reasons for this. For example, the rate card. We do not get adequate salaries. The company does not even give insurance. When we go to the customer, no matter how much trouble we are in, we smile and say, ‘Thank you sir, please rate us.’ If the order is canceled for any reason, a penalty has to be paid by the rider. The company should take action on this matter. We work on the road 14 hours a day, day and night. We don’t get paid according to our work.”
Another delivery worker said the rates were reasonable in the beginning, but recent changes are making it harder for riders to earn better income. He cited the example of a rider who met with an accident in the Barakhamba area, who did not receive any insurance assistance from the company.
Delivery personnel say, “Initially the rate card was fine, but now they have changed it, due to which all the riders are facing problems and hassles. We are also not getting insurance claims. Recently, a rider met with an accident in Barakhamba, and he did not get any claim. Our team leader and senior officials of the company asked him to create a PDF which they would send to Bengaluru. But there was no response from there. We all together wrote about that. Paid 1000-2000 rupees for help, TL never picks up the phone at 1 or 2 o’clock in the night, and if you argue with him even a little, he blocks your ID. There is a strike in the whole of Delhi today.”
The employee further alleged that team leaders often remain unresponsive and, in some cases, block riders’ IDs if they raise their concerns. “Even after working 14 hours, we barely get Rs 700 to Rs 800. Despite this, many of us are forced to work till late night,” he said.
Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav reiterated his demand to ban 10-minute delivery apps, claiming that these same companies are exploiting gig workers and taking advantage of their hard work by increasing their salaries drastically, due to which only the companies are benefiting.
“Today, the delivery boys of Swiggy, Zomato, riders of Blinkit, Zepto, drivers of Ola and Uber, these are the workforce that have enabled these big companies to become unicorns; they are valued in billions of dollars. In this entire ecosystem, if there is one group that is exploited and under immense pressure, it is the gig workers,” the Aam Aadmi Party MP said in an exclusive interview with ANI.
Chadha said that under a 10-minute delivery guarantee, a gig worker who drives recklessly becomes increasingly anxious, risks losing incentive money, and faces customer abuse when deliveries are delayed, while not having regular labor protections.
With an aim to improve the working conditions and rights of workers, Chadha has proposed capping working hours for gig workers to end the practice of working 14-16 hours a day for incentive money.
