Swiggy to roll out vaccine cover for its fleet of 2 lakh delivery partners

The foodtech giant would also cover the loss of pay when the partners take the time off to get vaccinated against coronavirus

Foodtech giant Swiggy said it is committed to vaccinating its delivery partners by covering 100 per cent of the vaccination cost for its entire fleet of active delivery partners against Covid-19. Present in around 500 cities, Swiggy has the country’s largest active delivery fleet with over 2,00,000 partners.

Vivek Sunder, chief operating officer of Swiggy, said over the past year, the firm’s delivery women and men have been a lifeline for the nation, delivering food and other essentials to millions of Indians during their time of need.

“As we continue to make all efforts to fight the pandemic, we’re prioritising creating awareness across our fleet and extending our Covid cover to include access to vaccination for all delivery partners,” said Sunder. “We will also cover the loss of pay when they take the time off to get vaccinated. This is another step in doing our bit for our partners who are supporting not just themselves and their families but also the society as essential service providers.”

Swiggy’s vaccination initiative comes after the Central Government’s announcement on the next phase of the nationwide vaccination commencing April 1, 2021, for individuals aged 45 and above. In the first tranche of the programme, 5,500 of Swiggy’s delivery partners, aged 45 and above will be eligible to opt-in for the vaccination. By the end of the program, Swiggy hopes to encourage 2,00,000 plus delivery partners with the choice to get vaccinated as they continue to provide an essential service. Swiggy is also requesting authorities for the prioritisation of delivery partners in the vaccine drive.

From the start of the pandemic, Swiggy has maintained a deep focus on the health and safety of its delivery partners. In addition to training its delivery partners on safety and hygiene best practices, in an industry-first, it introduced ‘no-contact’ deliveries to ensure the safety of both its consumers and delivery partners, weeks before the movement restrictions were announced. The company was also swift to institute safety measures like providing partners with face masks, sanitisers, hand hygiene stations at restaurants and use of technology to enable features such as ‘safety gear audit’ that promotes the compliance of mask usage and ‘no-contact’ delivery.

Swiggy is working with a healthcare partner to create awareness and communicate the necessary precautions. It is doing this by conducting workshops and counselling sessions for its delivery partners before the vaccination. It will then enable quick and free vaccine access and cover the loss of pay for the period the delivery partner spends in getting both the doses. If the partners choose to get the vaccination at a government facility, Swiggy will continue to cover the loss of pay for that period. Swiggy will also extend its free tele-medicine consultation and app-based support for delivery partners for this programme.

All delivery partners engage with Swiggy on a principle to principle basis to provide delivery services to customers. In addition to life insurance, medical and accident cover, through the pandemic, the company has been providing loss of pay cover for partners recovering from Covid-19.

During the lockdown, when many cities were shut, Swiggy financially aided delivery partners who continued to log-in despite not being able to deliver any orders. In a first for the industry, it supported delivery partners to the tune of Rs 18 crore in earnings guarantee to tide through the lockdown.