New Year’s Eve Delivery Crisis: nationwide Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto and Amazon For example, delivery workers associated with big digital platforms have announced a mass strike on 31 December. This strike is taking place at a time when the pressure of food delivery, quick commerce and online shopping is the highest due to New Year’s Eve. It is feared that this movement will have a direct impact on the New Year celebrations.
Which organizations called for strike?
This nationwide strike is being led by Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers. Apart from these, regional unions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and some parts of Tamil Nadu have also come out in support of this movement.
Why did anxiety increase before New Year?
On the night of 31st December, people depend the most on delivery apps for food, drinks, groceries and last-minute online shopping. Unions claim that more than one lakh delivery workers will either remain logged out of the app or will do very limited work. Usually the order volume increases manifold on this day, but this time there may be huge disruption in services.
Which services will be most affected?
Food delivery, quick commerce and e-commerce services may be severely affected due to the strike. Delays or cancellations are possible for late-night food ordering, emergency grocery deliveries and last-minute online shopping. Along with big cities like Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, many tier-2 cities can also be affected by it.
The real reason for the displeasure of gig workers
Unions say that despite the increasing demand for fast delivery, the condition of gig workers is continuously deteriorating. “Companies and customers benefited from Quick Commerce, but there was no improvement in the salary, job security and safety of delivery workers,” Union representatives allege. According to him, companies give priority to speed and customer convenience, while the pressure of more work and less earnings is increasing on workers.
ID blocks and allegations of algorithmic punishment
Union leaders claim that whenever delivery workers raise their issues, companies block their IDs or they are threatened. In some cases, allegations have also been made of showing fear of police complaint and giving punishment through algorithm.
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There has been a strike before too
This is not the first time that gig workers have stopped working. Earlier, about 40 thousand delivery workers had participated in the strike on December 25, due to which about 60 percent of the services in many cities were affected.
What to keep in mind on New Year
Due to the strike, people dependent on ordering food from outside or online grocery may face problems on New Year’s night. In such a situation, it would be wise to prepare in advance and have options. This movement not only draws attention to the disruption in services, but also to the difficult working conditions of gig workers.
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