Days after he voiced concerns of a Blinkit delivery partner in a post on X, Aam Aadmi Party (MP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha today shared a video of his interaction with the delivery boy whose social media posts amplified the discussion around the incomprehensible conditions they have to endure.
Chadha shared a 17-minute-long video of the entire conversation with the delivery boy, Himanshu, over lunch.
“Through his social media posts, he had recently shared the harsh realities and miseries faced by riders/delivery boys. We spoke at length about the high risks, long hours, low pay, and no safety net. These voices deserve to be heard in Parliament and beyond,” the parliamentarian stated.
’18 hours, 28 deliveries’
Himanshu talked in detail about the work he does everyday and under what conditions. He said that he did 28 deliveries and earned just Rs 763. When the MP asked how many hours he worked, Himanshu replied, “15 hours.”
“Sometimes I am going down the road, down from the basement. So there I slipped and fell, it hit my hand. There have been many such accidents with me,” Himanshu said.
He said the case is the same with those working for Zomato and Swiggy, the drivers of Ola and Uber, the riders of Blinkit and Zepto.
“Sir, in the government’s language, they are called gig workers. But I call them the invisible wheels of the Indian economy. For a 10-minute delivery, he does over-speeding, jumps the red light and puts his life at risk. These people are not robots, they are also the fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons of someone,” Himanshu said while speaking about the emotional aspect of these workers.
He appealed that the government must think about them and end this 10-minute delivery.
’10-minute’ delivery remain a pain
Himanshu said the 10-minute deliveries have further increased the difficulties for the workers. “Sometimes we order something or a friend or relative goes to someone’s house and orders something. We can see their pain. I think we should raise their voice,” he added.
“I hope there will be a change soon and everything will be fine,” Himanshu said with a hope, adding that the 10-minute delivery is wasting their time and ruining the incentive.
Chadha asked if the delivery partners have a timer on their app to deliver in 10 minutes. Himanshu replied negatively. “Sir, there is no timer to deliver food in 10 minutes. But the customer calls and tells me that I have not come yet. After that, I get to hear more. Why did you come so late?” he added.
Why deliveries in societies is not as easy as it look
The Blinkit delivery agent also mentioned that at times, he had to deliver food to the customer’s house on the 14th floor. “But the problem is that if the service lift is not on, then the rest of the society does not let it go,” he said.
“They say that there is no lift for delivery workers, then climb the stairs and go. This has never happened to me, but there are many delivery riders who do this. I am telling you about them. If the service lift is not working, then they climb 10 floors, 12 floors, 14 floors. I have seen many such cases,” Himanshu added.
A delivery boy or a rider has a son, a husband, a father, a brother; they are not robots. “He should get respect and dignity,” he said.
Hiamnshu also told the AAP MP that incidents like murder, snatching of orders take place with the delivery boys and they do not get anything in compensation ever.
“How much money do you get for aid delivery?,” asked Raghav Chandha. Himanshu replied that if there is a pass order, then earlier they used to get Rs 16-17, but now they Rs 12-13 per order.
“And when we used to get 5 km away, we used to get Rs. 80-90. That is, we used to get around Rs 70-80. Now when I did it, I was getting Rs 50-60,” he added.
From PF, insurance, paid leaves to ESI – Himanshu talked at length about what the gig workers are deprived of.
Notably, last month, the Government of India for the first time, formally defined gig workers and maintained that “Under Code on Social Security, 2020 all workers including gig & platform workers get social security coverage. All workers will get PF, ESIC, insurance, and other social security benefits”.
