Zomato, Swiggy offer higher incentives to gig workers ahead of New Year
This is standard practice e-commerce firms follow during festive periods to ensure smooth service; New Year's Eve typically sees a big jump in online orders
Food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy are offering more incentives to their delivery partners, a standard practice they follow on festive periods, to ensure minimal disruptions in services on New Year's Eve amid strike call by gig workers' unions.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) have claimed that lakhs of workers are set to join the nationwide strike to demand better payouts and improved working conditions.
The strike may impact the operations of food delivery and quick commerce firms like Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto on New Year's Eve, when demand is at an all-time high, said PTI, quoting industry sources.
Zomato's move
Zomato has offered delivery partners payouts of Rs 120 to Rs 150 per order during peak hours between 6 pm and 12 am on New Year's Eve. The platform has also promised earnings of up to Rs 3,000 over the course of the day, subject to order volumes and worker availability, people in the know of the development told PTI.
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In addition, Zomato has temporarily waived penalties on order denials and cancellations, they said, however, stressing that it was a standard operating protocol followed during high-demand festive and year-end periods.
"This is part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods, which typically see higher earning opportunities due to increased demand," an Eternal spokesperson told PTI.
Eternal owns Zomato and Blinkit brands.
Swiggy's offer
Similarly, Swiggy has also increased incentives around the year-end period, offering delivery workers earnings of up to Rs 10,000 across December 31 and January 1, according to people aware of the development, as quoted by PTI.
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On New Year's Eve, the platform is advertising peak-hour earnings of up to Rs 2,000 for the six-hour period between 6 pm and 12 am, in a bid to ensure adequate rider availability during one of the busiest ordering windows of the year, they said, maintaining that increased payouts were a standard practice during such periods.
In a joint statement, TGPWU and IFAT said, "As of last night, over 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers across India have confirmed participation, with numbers expected to rise further by evening".
With agency inputs