The ‘Swiggy unit’ under Maharashtra’s workers’ union, Rashtriya Karamchari Sena, is on an indefinite strike. The delivery personnel working for the Bengaluru-based food-delivery aggregator are seeking better pay as well as improved working conditions. This is the third day of the strike.
As part of the protest, the delivery personnel have been organising bike rallies with riders carrying placards stating their demands.
The strike has definitely affected the food delivery service as well as Swiggy’s Instamart service in the city of Mumbai, as the local population is not able to place orders via the firm’s app.
The delivery personnel who are reportedly paid Rs 20 for six kilometers find it difficult to meet their needs given the rising fuel prices. Their complaint is that they are able to actually earn only about Rs 40 now whereas there was a time when they were able to earn Rs 100.
They are paid per order taking into account the number of kilometers covered by them for delivery, incentive payment and surge pay.
In May 2023, a similar strike was initiated by Swiggy’s delivery personnel in Chennai in protest against the platform reducing various employee perks, such as delivery fees, incentives and petrol allowances. The employees were also upset that they were being subjected to fines for late deliveries, without any consideration for their concerns. The Chennai strike had been launched after providing appropriate notice to both the company and the labour department.
