Food delivery, qcom firms raise incentives amid gig workers' strike

Delivery and quick commerce platforms raised per-order payouts and rolled out fresh incentives for December 31, even as gig worker unions called a nationwide strike over pay and conditions

Food delivery and quick commerce (qcom) companies, including Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto, increased payouts and rolled out additional incentives for delivery partners on Wednesday (December 31), as New Year’s Eve (NYE) remains one of the busiest days of the year for these platforms.

 

While the hikes in per-order payouts and incentives are a usual phenomenon during festive periods and peak-demand occasions, the development also comes at a time when several gig worker unions have called for a nationwide strike. Workers are protesting low pay structures, poor working conditions, long working hours, arbitrary deactivation of IDs, and lack of medical facilities, emergency support, and social security.

 

Commenting on the hike in incentives by companies, Shaik Salauddin, founder president, Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), said, “The strike is going on even as companies are dangling incentives in front of gig workers. These incentives are part of the pressure tactic of delivery companies, but the strike is not for one-day benefit but a long-term outcome. We hoped for 1.7 lakh workers to join us, but as of the evening, we have the support of 1.9 lakh workers. Towards the night, we might have more than 2 lakh workers participating in the strike."  

 

Salauddin, who is also the national general secretary at the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) had earlier said, “As of last night (December 30), over 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers across India have confirmed participation, with numbers expected to rise further by evening.”

 

Salauddin added that there has been a guaranteed impact of the strike on food delivery and qcom business. He noted that nearly 40-50 per cent of food delivery orders pan-India were delayed. However, on the other hand, companies maintained that it was business as usual for them with minor hiccups. 

 

As a result, to ensure adequate availability of delivery partners and smooth business operations, various companies are offering several attractive incentives.

 

In a social media post, Zomato said that over 23,000 delivery partners earned more than ₹1,500 on Christmas Day (December 25). It added that workers can earn up to ₹3,000 on NYE. Notably, the platform is offering up to ₹150 per order between 6 pm and midnight on food deliveries. Similar to Zomato, Swiggy is also advertising peak-hour earnings (6 pm-12 midnight) of ₹2,000.

 

On the qcom side, Raj, a 24-year-old delivery partner working at Swiggy Instamart, shared that the company is giving incentives worth ₹1,000 on 20 orders, ₹1,600 on 30 orders, ₹2,400 on 40 orders, and ₹3,000 on 45 orders, and so on. “On normal days, the incentive is usually around ₹145 for 17 orders, and ₹210 for 20 orders,” he added.

 

Another delivery partner working at Blinkit and Zepto mentioned that both companies have increased their incentives significantly for NYE and for January 1. The partner showed on this mobile application that Blinkit is offering incentives of ₹495 on earnings of ₹626, ₹685 on earnings of ₹754, ₹896 on earnings of ₹908, ₹1,097 on earnings of ₹1,030, and ₹1,400 on earnings of ₹1,224.

 

On the other hand, Zepto was giving Rs 126 extra on earnings of Rs 156, Rs 194 on earnings of Rs 238, and Rs 270 in addition when a delivery partner earns Rs 320. 

Even as companies entice workers, the worker unions say they will go on strike in large numbers by logging out of their delivery apps and staying at home. The unions leading or participating in the protest include TGPWU, IFAT, the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (Gipswu), and the Gig Workers Association (GigWA). In addition, TGPWU and Gipswu also penned a letter to Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, listing their demands.

 

Meanwhile magicpin's, third largest food delivery platform, founder and the top management also hit the road on NYE delivering food, even as they said that the gig worker strike had not impacted deliveries. Anshoo Sharma, founder and CEO of the firm said that the company is seeing no impact on delivery.

 

"This year, it’s even more special since every single fleet worker refused to join the gig workers’ strike and chose to serve our customers on New Year’s Eve. That’s why my leadership team and I, as always, decided to be part of our delivery fleet colleagues rather than sit in cosy, centrally heated war rooms.” said Sharma.

 

WHAT UNION'S WANT?

1. Discontinuation of 10-20-minute delivery mandates
2. Fixing minimum per-km rates at Rs 20
3. Emergency leaves, comprehensive maternity protection
4. Eliminating arbitrary ID blocking & punitive rating systems
5. Guaranteeing minimum monthly earnings
6. Abolishing peak hours, slot systems & weekend hour limits
7. Capping all deductions at 20%
8. Compensating workers for customer-initiated cancellations
9. Extending 45-minute service-level agreement to 1 hr 30 mins
10. Replacing AI-based calls with 24/7 human customer support
11. Ending mandatory pre & post-task photo uploads
12. Limiting women's assignments to 7-km radius