How Urban Company, BigBasket Beat Dunzo, Ola On Fairwork’s Ratings For Gig Workers

Gurugram-based hyperlocal services unicorn Urban Company and online grocery startup BigBasket beat the likes of Dunzo, Ola and Uber on Fairwork India’s ratings which rated these platforms on the working conditions of their gig workers.

Urban Company topped the Fairwork India Ratings 2022 and was followed by BigBasket, Flipkart, Swiggy, and Zomato. While Urban Company received 7 points out of 10, BigBasket received 6 points, ecommerce platform Flipkart received 5 points, and foodtech majors Swiggy and Zomato earned 5 and 4 points, respectively.

Fairwork India team published the report, ‘Fairwork India Ratings 2022: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy’, in which 12 consumer internet platforms were ranked based on five principles – fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation. 

Fairwork is a project of the University of Oxford which evaluates the working conditions of gig workers of digital platforms.

The rating comes as a positive news for Urban Company, which saw protests by some of its women partners last year. Later, the unicorn also sent legal notice to some of the protestors to vacate the company’s office. Earlier this year, some of the women partners involved in last year’s protest also alleged that they were facing targeted action on the platform.

As per the ratings, Urban Company scored the highest points for its fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, and fair management. Urban Company, Flipkart and BigBasket were awarded the first points given their public commitments to paying workers at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs.

However, these platforms failed to earn the second point on fair pay, which would have been awarded if their workers earned at least the local living wage after costs.

Fairwork awarded 2 points for each of its five principles, and a platform was eligible to get the second point only after receiving the first point.

Besides, the aforementioned five startups–Urban Company, BigBasket, Flipkart, Swiggy, and Zomato–were awarded the first points for fair working conditions, taking into account their accident insurance policies, the steps taken to improve claims processes, and the presence of emergency helplines. The second point on this principle was awarded to platforms that provide monetary support to workers when they are unable to work due to a medical illness. Only Urban Company, Bigbasket, and Swiggy could meet up to this benchmark.

It is pertinent to note that Tiger Global-backed Urban Company announced a Partner Stock Ownership Plan (PSOP) for its service providers in March this year. The plan was to award stocks worth INR 150 Cr to its service partners over the next 5-7 years. The startup also rolled out a health insurance plan for its service partners in India earlier this year.

As per the report, Swiggy, Urban Company, and Zomato were awarded points on fair management for having a grievance redressal process with the option to connect with a human representative of the platform. This comes despite Swiggy facing complaints and strikes by its delivery executives in various parts of India over the last few months.

Last month, Swiggy’s executives were on a strike in Kochi for over two weeks for a hike in their remuneration. Earlier this year, its executives in cities including Delhi and Bengaluru also went on strike.

Quick commerce platform Dunzo’s delivery executives also initiated multiple strikes this year over various demands, including payment and working terms.

However, as per the Fairwork India report, Dunzo is one of the worst platforms for gig workers, along with Amazon Flex, Ola, PharmEasy, and Uber. These startups failed to score a single point.

Interestingly, Inc42 reported earlier this year how Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola allegedly cheated thousands of drivers who had signed up for leases with the startup to purchase cars with daily rental payments. 

The Fairwork report said, “Even with workers and worker groups repeatedly emphasising the importance of a stable income for platform workers, platforms have been reluctant to publicly commit to, and operationalise a minimum wage policy.”

The Fairwork India team is spearheaded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP) at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB), in association with the University of Oxford. The team assessed evidence through a combination of desk research and worker interviews conducted in Bangalore, Delhi, and Kochi.

As per a report released by government think-tank NITI Aayog earlier this year, over 7.7 Mn workers were engaged in the gig economy in the country in 2020-21, with this number expected to soar to 23.5 Mn by 2029-30. 

The frequent complaints and strikes by gig workers have often raised questions about their working conditions. In its report, NITI Aayog also batted for extending social security benefits to these workers.