'Don’t risk our lives for your business,' Telangana gig workers to Zomato

Taking a hard stance at the Zomato’s new instant food delivery model, the Telangana gig and platform workers union (TGPWU)  has said that the pilot project introduced by Zomato can endanger the lives of the delivery partners. Founder State President of TGPWU, Shaik Salauddin told Business Today that the instant food delivery model will further expose the gig workers to the risk of accidents, penalties by the police, law enforcement agencies without adequate support by the corporates.

“Even robots would not be able to perform at this speed. And they are expecting humans to deliver,” the TGPWU President noted.

Salauddin, who is also the General Secretary of Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers, said that the gig workers are already fighting a legal battle against the new-age technology companies like Ola, Uber, Zomato, Swiggy in the Supreme Court over wage discrepancies and no guarantee of social security.

 
“The SC has petitioned these companies and sought responses for them during the proceedings,” he added.

 
On Monday, when Zomato's CEO Deepinder Goyal announced the instant food delivery model of the unicorn -- which will be implemented on a pilot project basis in Gurugram from next month -- sparked outrage on social media, with many raising concerns over safety of the delivery workers.

Announcement: 10 minute food delivery is coming soon on Zomato.

Food quality – 10/10
Delivery partner safety – 10/10
Delivery time – 10 minutes

Here’s how Zomato Instant will achieve the impossible while ensuring delivery partner safety – https://t.co/oKs3UylPHh pic.twitter.com/JYCNFgMRQz

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 21, 2022

Goyal earlier today clarified in a series of tweets that the new business model will not compromise the safety of the delivery workers and will focus on selected locations and for limited foods with no penalties or incentives to the gig workforce.

 
Goyal has also said that the new model will effectively reduce the final costs to the customer but without affecting the wages of delivery workers or the profits/ margins of the company or the partner restaurant.
 
“Due to demand predictability at a hyperlocal level, we expect that the price for the customer will get significantly reduced, while the absolute rupee margin/income for our restaurant partners as well as our delivery partners, will remain the same,” Goyal tweeted.

"If Zomato Instant works as envisioned, it will create significant impact on affordability (at least 50 per cent reduction in cost to the end customer), accessibility (reduction of delivery time from 30 minutes average to under 10 minutes), and quality (with influence over the supply chain, we will be able to ensure highest grade ingredients and hygiene practices across the supply chain),” Goyal added.

Again, 10-minute delivery is as safe for our delivery partners as 30-minute delivery.

God, I love LinkedIn :P

(2/2) pic.twitter.com/GihCjxA7aQ

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 22, 2022