Delivery boys seek better deal

Delivery partners belonging to various food delivery platforms will submit a memorandum to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, demanding regularisation of jobs and minimum pay.

Hundreds from The Food Delivery Partners’ Struggle Committee and the All India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO) gathered in the city on Thursday, seeking a better deal.

They claimed that though they have a fancy designation — “delivery partners” — they have been deprived of all the basic facilities that an employee deserves. They will submit a memorandum to the government, seeking to regulate anyone working on the gig economy model.

The primary demands are that they must be considered as “employees” and given a fixed pay, and also incentives in addition to pay. They also want the government to frame the necessary guidelines for their operation and ensure social security to those employed and their family.

Raghu, a member of AIDYO, said there is no social security for delivery partners. “There is harassment at work. They encounter abusive customers. In case they meet with accidents, the customer service is also not responsive,” he said.

While the event was on, executives claimed that a manager from one of the platforms arrived at the location and threatened to get people off the platform if they were part of the meeting.

Tweaked app?

Hari (name changed), one of the partners, said that initially they were given sufficient bonus, depending on the distance they travelled to deliver food. The incentives have come down considerably, he said.

Partners also claimed that the app was designed in a manner that they would get no incentives. “There are four slabs. You can opt to deliver 10, 15, 19 or 23 orders a day and will be given incentives ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 850. Suppose we select 23. The number of orders that gets assigned to us in the day stops at 20. We have to wait for three to four hours for the other three.

“We slog, hoping to get the incentive at the end of the day. The app does not let us complete it. Sometimes, we wait till midnight just for one order. We have also noted that the partners who get on the platform afresh are given preference for orders,” said another.