gig workers strike
On one hand, the new year is about to enter. On the other hand, gig workers are on strike. This means that the delivery of your goods which used to take 10 minutes, may now take a lot of time. The reason behind this strike is the demand for increase in payment for delivery. Workers said that delivery payment has been reduced and working hours have been increased. By doing this their income has reduced by 50 percent.
Gig workers working for online and digital platforms like delivery apps Swiggy, Zomato, Blinking, Zapto, Amazon and Flipkart have once again announced a strike from today. The striking workers have spoken to TV9 Bharatvarsh and explained their problems.
What is the complaint of gig workers?
Gig workers allege that the company is arbitrarily reducing delivery payments, incentives and bonuses, no matter what. Earlier the income was good. However, today the income has halved compared to earlier. The situation is such that despite working for 7 to 8 hours and making dozens of deliveries, one gets only Rs 400 to 500 as earnings. Earlier, by working for the same amount of time, we could earn up to Rs 1,000.
Workers told that earlier they used to work mindfully. Today work has become a compulsion. We work 17 to 18 hours. Even after this there is no income. On top of that, there is pressure to deliver more in less time. If there is a jam on the way, the customers behave badly. If an accident happens while trying to reach early, there is neither treatment facility nor insurance.
Now half the income is left
Earlier on 25th December also these gig workers had gone on strike. But, this increased the problem further instead of solving it. While talking to TV9 Bharatvarsh, these people told that for striking and raising their voice, the team leader threatened to block the ID and get beaten by the police. Where on average 15 orders were received in 5 hours, now it has come down to just 7/8. The incentive is also not fixed.
Workers say that due to changes in the payment structure in the last few months, their income has fallen by 50%. Also, rising costs and uncertain working hours are creating a no-security zone for them.
What are the demands of gig workers?
The demands of the gig workers are that they should be given fair payment, fair incentives, insurance policy and health benefits as per the distance and time of delivery. But, due to lack of unity among all the gig workers in the unorganized sector, their views are not heard. Companies take advantage of this. Whereas some app companies say that the new payment models are performance-based and their aim is to create an effective delivery network.
Let us tell you that there are more than 80 lakh gig workers in the country, who work in the delivery, logistics and ride-sharing sectors. But, although this model of employment is flexible, the legal framework regarding social security and minimum wage is still not clear.
Shopkeepers also support gig workers
Due to the strike of gig workers, there is a difference in the speed of the delivery network. Due to the previous strike, the services of food and grocery delivery apps have been affected in many parts of the country, especially in Gurugram. Due to which food outlets and customers are also worried. Deepak, who runs Variety Omelette in Gurugram, said that 70/80% of his sales used to be online. 80% sales reduced due to the strike.
He further said that the food remained ready but the delivery boy did not come. Something is going wrong with them. They are not getting full payment for their work. So a woman who came there says that on Christmas and New Year we order it online only. But, this time there was a lot of trouble. Now if the strike continues on 31st December then the problem will increase further. They ask that when these apps take full delivery money from us then why don’t they give it to these workers.