More than 200 workers who depend on food delivery apps for their income participated in a convention on Thursday to protest against the disadvantages of the gig economy which sees them without benefits such as insurance and PF.
Several food delivery ‘partners’ who wanted to attend the event alleged that they were dissuaded from doing so by the aggregator platforms they had signed up with.
Senior High Court advocate K. Subbarao, who spoke at the ‘We too are workers’ convention, highlighted the rise of gig-based jobs at the cost of permanent jobs that offer more security to workers. “Naming people with opposed interests as partners is a farce,” he said.
Delivery partners took to the stage to talk about the poor redressal system offered by food delivery platforms when customers complain, the disparity in pay within the organisations, and the drastic increase in number of deliveries for fewer incentives.
“Many of us do not take a lunch break as we have to fulfil orders to earn incentive. We work 16 to 20 hours a day,” said Arun Kumar, a delivery partner. He alleged that his ID was blocked by the aggregator app as he had taken part in protests.
Almost all the participants said they had health issues such as back problems because of the nature of their job.
K. Radhakrishna, president of All-India United Trade Union Centre, said that labour laws need to be made applicable to the gig economy. “The condition is also a reflection of the crisis of capitalism where we see huge layoffs,” he said. “Calling them partners is a deception tactic by the aggregators to deprive them of their rights. He said that big corporate firms fear that workers unionise and organise, so they resort to divisive and exploitative tactics.”
The event was organised by All-India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO) along with the Food Delivery Partners Struggle Committee. Later in the evening, they submitted a memorandum with their demands to J.C. Madhuswamy. “We have been promised a meeting with senior officials next week,” said Vinay Sarathy, vice-president of AIDYO.
