Ola, Amazon, Uber, Dunzo, PharmEasy have worst working conditions for gig workers: Fairwork study

Aggregator platforms Ola, Amazon, Uber, Dunzo, and PharmEasy have been rated the lowest by a Fairwork study that evaluated working conditions of gig workers in India.

The study focussed on five main areas to evaluate the companies, which were pay, contracts, manacgement, conditions, and representation. Out of 10, Ola, Amazon, Uber, Dunzo, and PharmEasy were awarded a score of 0, while Porter was given a 1/10, Zepto got 2/10, Zomato 4/10, Swiggy and Flipkart scored 5/10, Bigbasket 6/10 and Urban Company got the highest points with 7/10.

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Highlights from the study

The study highlighted that gig workers do not even make local minimum wage and often lose money due to the individual rating system on the platforms. It also noted that gig workers are not provided with  social benefits like sick leaves and insurance.

Gig-workers’ take

Jose, a 36 year old Uber driver, told the reserachers how he often loses money while using the platform. He said, “In the morning, when there is a trip, it will be 5 km away, and the actual journey will be 4 km. But they don’t give us cash for the total 9 km; they only pay for the 4 km.”

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“So, if we stop in the middle, it’s over then and there. We have to work till the evening. We are trapped in it like this, it is just like going to an office. We cannot leave whenever we want. Many people have come into this, expecting that there is no one to control us, but in reality, there is control in the background,” he added that the working conditions are not flexible either. 

Faizal, a Swiggy delivery worker, noted that he abstains from lodging complaints about customers or the platform in fear of lower ratings and backlash. He told the researchers, "I am hesitant to complain because I am fearful of further discrimination. Many such instances happen regularly, and I have learned to act oblivious to them in order to keep working."

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The way forward

The study concludes that it is important for aggregator platforms to recognise a union that represents the concerns of the workers.

It noted, “Representation through a collective body or trade union is a vital dimension of fairness at work. It is disconcerting that despite the rise in platform worker collectivisation across the country, like last year, there was insufficient evidence from any platform to show willingness to recognise a collective body of workers.”

The Fairwork India team is spearheaded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP) at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB), with partners at the University of Oxford.

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