Gig workers want ban on 10-min delivery, plan nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve

Bengaluru: Gig workers’ unions have called for a nationwide strike on December 31, demanding a ban on ‘10-minute’ delivery among other
demands. 

Multiple unions had called for a similar strike on December 25, leading to delivery disruptions in Gurugram and some parts of Delhi; however, operations in Bengaluru remained largely unimpacted. But the ‘App Bandh’ strike on New Year’s Eve is likely to have a larger impact on the city, shared union leaders. 

Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), and Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) are among the major national unions to have called for the strike. 

IFAT has about 7 lakh union members across the country, of which about 35,000 are based in Bengaluru. “There is no compulsion for the members to take part in the strike; we want them to participate on their own accord. The reality is that several people want to protest, but they are scared of being blacklisted by their respective companies,” said Prashant Sawardekar, founder and national president of IFAT. 

Among the main demands from the union are: Regulation of platform companies under labour laws; Ban on 10-minute delivery model, End to arbitrary ID blocking and other penalties; Fair and transparent wages; improved social security; and protection of right to organise and collectively bargain. Karnataka App-based Workers Union, along with other unions, has also written to Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in this regard. 

A common concern among gig workers remains the rising number of penalties imposed by aggregator platforms.

“It could be an error by the restaurant or the customer, but we are the ones who bear the brunt of it. If the restaurant delays the order preparation, the customers raise a complaint against us, and if a customer delays picking up the order and is unresponsive, our time is wasted, but the customer is not held responsible. We are penalised for every delay,” said Salauddin, a 49-year-old delivery driver who plans to join in on the protest on Wednesday.

The delivery executives remain hopeful that the base pay per delivery will be set at least Rs 20 in the new year. 

Many others are also planning to take part, keeping in mind the safety concerns on New Year’s Eve.

“The chaos on the streets of Bengaluru on New Year’s Eve is not worth risking your life for a job that is neither respected by the employer nor the customers. I hope more delivery agents realise this and join the strike,” said Sandeep K, a 39-year-old food delivery and porter agent. 

Along with delivery executives, the unions have also called for home service workers and cab drivers to join in on the protest. However, cab and auto services will remain unaffected on Wednesday, said the city-based union. 

Hotels anticipate losses 

Restaurants across the city remain wary about how to tackle delivery orders on December 31 if the strike sees widespread participation. 

While a few smaller establishments plan to take orders on calls and use their own employees for delivery, the large-scale restaurants have no plans set in stone.

“Since we have not yet received any payment from the aggregator platforms, we are hopeful that they’ll have everything in place. It’s impossible to set up a delivery initiative on our own at the last minute; our operations will take a major hit,” said Nikhil Gupta, owner of The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini and Smash Guys, with about 35 outlets across the city.