Swiggy Services Disrupted In Mumbai As Delivery Executives Go On A Strike

Food delivery major Swiggy’s delivery services have reportedly been impacted in several areas of Mumbai following a strike called by its delivery executives.

As per a Bloomberg Quint report, Swiggy’s delivery services have been impacted in Bandra, Dadar, and several other parts of South Mumbai.

The strike began on October 8 following a call given by the Rashtriya Karmchari Sena. The executives are demanding higher pay.

Several Swiggy users took to X (formerly Twitter) to report about the disruption in food and grocery delivery services in Mumbai.

Swiggy delivery executives could also be seen taking out bike rallies with placards highlighting their demands for higher pay in a video posted on the social media platform.

Swiggy did not respond to Inc42’s queries on the issue till the time of publishing this story. The article will be updated on receiving a response from the foodtech giant.

This is not the first time that delivery executives of Swiggy have protested against the company. Last year, there were multiple disruptions in different parts of the country, including Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kochi, after such strikes, which were also mostly due to payout-related complaints.

The delivery executives’ earnings comprise three parts – money paid on each order varying on the basis of distance travelled, incentive pay, and surge pay.

Earlier this year, delivery executives of Zomato’s quick commerce platform Blinkit also went on a strike for several days in Delhi NCR over the changes in their pay structure.

Inc42 has learnt that a few Zomato delivery executives are also a part of the ongoing protest in Mumbai. 

While the Rashtriya Karmchari Sena is demanding fair pay from online food delivery companies, the Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers (IFATW) is seeking broader changes by the government in the gig working space.

Shaik Salauddin, the national general secretary of the IFATW, told Inc42 that the union has urged for a “Social Security Bill” for the 4.8 Lakh gig and platform workers, including those working for Ola, Uber, Rapido, Porter, Dunzo, and BigBasket, in Mumbai.

Similar to the legislation introduced by the Rajasthan government for social security of gig and platform workers in the state, the IFATW has demanded a welfare cess. The welfare cess is levied on each transaction generated on the platforms and is deposited into a dedicated social security fund for the welfare of gig and platform workers.

It has also asked for a “tripartite board” comprising representatives from aggregators, worker organisations, and the government. This board will be responsible for administering social security schemes for gig and platform workers. 

“The Rajasthan Platform-based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023 has provided a model for the development of a welfare board to provide social protection and benefits for workers in Rajasthan. We urge you to introduce a similar social security framework for gig and platform workers in Mumbai,” Salauddin said.

He also told Inc42 that around 10,000 delivery executives are currently protesting across Mumbai.

Gig workers’ pay and overall employee benefits have become a matter of concern with the growth of the ecosystem. Last year, ‘Fairwork India Ratings 2022: Labour Standards in the Platform Economy’ report gave 5 points out of 10 to Swiggy while Zomato received 4. These companies were ranked on the basis of five principles – fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation. 

Amid rising protests from the delivery executives, the Labour Ministry held talks with startups including Swiggy, Urban Company,  Ola, Uber, and Zomato earlier this year to provide benefits such as life insurance, personal accident, and health covers to their gig workers.

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