New Delhi: The gig economy in India is in new turmoil, with delivery workers organising a country-wide strike on December 31. The main focus of the protest
is the claim to cancel the most popular 10-minute delivery option because, according to the union leaders, it is unsafe and unfair toward employees who already face low wages and impulsive pressure.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) has threatened that the delivery services in the key cities would be crippled during the high time. According to the union, thousands of employees have already come forward in support and are currently demanding businesses and the government resolve thousands of years-old concerns regarding wages, algorithms and social security.
Union demands rollback of 10-minute delivery model
TGPWU President Shaik Salauddin announced that all outlets should do away with the 10-minute delivery option and revert to the previous system of payouts. He said that the existing payment systems have cut salaries by a very high margin and made employees highly stressed. He estimates that approximately 40,000 gig workers in India had backed a previous stage of the protest on December 25.
Salauddin indicated that the union is willing to negotiate with the companies but requested urgent action from both the state and central government. He said that what had occurred on December 25 was merely a preview, and the December 31 strike would mark the extent of worker anger.
Workers cite low pay, algorithm pressure and safety risks
The union claims that the work is now managed by algorithms which are applied to allocate work, rewards and punishments in most cases without being transparent. Salauddin remarked that there is a lack of incentives, a weak grievance mechanism, and a lack of social security among the workers despite long working hours.
He further asserted that employees are intimidated. The union claims that other platforms have blocked IDs and stationed security officers outside warehouses to deter involvement in protests.
Nationwide support builds across major platforms
The Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) has united gig workers that are connected to Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto and Amazon. Union officials indicate that over 1.5 lakh employees in the nation back the movement, and the figures are likely to increase.
In the December 25 protest, the union reported that it experienced a delay in 50 to 60 per cent of deliveries. It cautioned that any disruption on December 31 can be much broader.
The demonstration has also attracted political attention. Raghav Chadha, the Aam Aadmi Party MP in the Rajya Sabha, again sought the ban on 10-minute delivery applications. He claimed that gig workers are under very high pressure, and companies have billions of dollars in valuations.
The argument by Chadha is that delivery places push workers into hazardous behaviour without providing fundamental labour protection. He has also demanded fixed working hours so that workers cannot record 14 to 16 hours a day just to get incentives.
