Prioritising safety over quickness, e-commerce platforms have promised the Centre to comply with its directives and stop claims of delivering products in 10 minutes or under.
Companies, including Blinkit, Zepto, Zomato, and Swiggy have assured the government of doing away with delivery-time commitments that jeopardise the safety of gig workers.
The move came after the intervention of Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who held discussions with officials of e-commerce platforms and raised concern about gig workers’ safety on the roads.
Subsequently, Blinkit said it would stop using the ’10-minute delivery’ claims across all its brand platforms and brand advertisements.
The Centre had to come to the gig workers’ rescue after a massive, nationwide strike by the latter on New Year’s Eve, in a protest against low pay, unsafe working conditions and undue pressure due to strict delivery timelines. Drivers said the push to deliver items “in minutes” put them at grave risk on the roads.
Also Read: Why delivery workers are on nationwide strike
The quick-commerce and food delivery market has expanded very quickly in recent years, with companies such as Swiggy now valued at around $11 billion, while rival Zomato has a market capitalisation of nearly $28 billion.
The government, in its recent Labour Reforms notification, brought gig workers under the umbrella of regularised employees who have the rights that govern permanent workers.
Earlier, in 2023, Rajasthan had become the first state to enact a law governing gig work, setting up a welfare board, creating a social security fund and establishing mechanisms to address workers’ grievances. This was followed by Karnataka and Jharkhand following suit with similar legislation.
As a result, some e-commerce platforms also started rolling out benefits like accident cover and basic health insurance to their part-time employees.
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