‘Govt Order On 10-Minute Delivery Branding Is A Big Relief For Us’
Two gig workers or delivery partners express relief following the government’s intervention to scrap the controversial ’10-minute delivery’ branding. Their names have been changed on request. Their views:
Arun Kumar, a native of Rae Bareili who is working as a delivery partner in Lucknow, recalls that life before the relief was like a battle – not amongst the companies but between us, the delivery partners, who, just for the sake of earning an extra buck, used to literally risk their lives and above all our relations. Relations because we the work force who are the most important link between the company and the customer are basically human beings and are connected with each other like friends and family.
And while most of us have multiple identities (of Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, etc) to make as much money as we can and we mostly pick several orders at a go on a single route. Not a single day passed without an incident or accident of either someone meeting with an accident in a bid to `conquer’ time or someone caught by the police for over speeding or jumping a signal.
Ehtesham Siddiqui, a native of Balia district and sole breadwinner of his family in Lucknow, said that there were also regular cases of time lapse and the customers refusing to pay after the deadline which eventually burnt a hole in our pockets. Though there were also customers who were humane and understood us, but that number was very few or nominal and we were surely on the receiving end. This also prompted us to stand against this impractical term which forced our community to go one a nationwide strike on the New Year’s Eve.
The government’s decision is a major victory for the safety and dignity of the primary work force that is putting its maximum effort. Giving more time will not only reduce instances of dangerous driving but will also ward off our constant worries about being late and getting penalized.
However, this is just the beginning – our other demands like fair, fixed pay, better social security, etc are still pending and are going unheard and we expect the government to also give a thought to these demands which are not at all unfair and are for the betterment of an important segment of the society which is making the life of other better and smoother.
The move directly addresses the high stress, accidents, and violations of traffic rules caused by the 10-minute, 10,000-product marketing promise. This will also help companies focus on its wide range of products rather than time-based, ultra-fast and, in a way, inhumane promises.
After all, a model of convenience should not come at the cost of human lives. The move will allow us to work more peacefully, reducing the need for dangerous driving, signal jumping, and risky overtaking to meet unrealistic app-driven deadlines. However, “the task and expectations” on the ground must also change. A permanent institutional mechanism should also be brought in force to ensure that algorithms and incentive structures are also adjusted to reflect longer, safer delivery windows which will not only ease the life of partners but will also add to the goodwill of the companies.
As told to Rajat Rai
