Delivery workers are nothing short of a godsend for many in India's cities. They zip through heavy traffic, pollution, and harsh weather to bring hot food and groceries to consumers in minutes. But behind the wheel, they fight a silent battle for survival that often goes unnoticed.
To draw attention to this, their union - the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers - has called for a strike on New Year's Eve. The call also affected Christmas, disrupting deliveries.
The exact number of delivery workers in India is not available due to the absence of any official database. However, a 2022 report published by NITI Aayog said there were an estimated 77 lakh gig workers in 2020-21, including those engaged in food delivery, quick commerce, and app-based car- and bike-taxi driving. The number was estimated to be between 80 lakh and 1.8 crore in 2024.
Delivery Workers' Pain
Despite backbreaking labour, delivery workers face a range of challenges: meagre income, high work pressure, job insecurity, physical and mental health issues, violence, and a lack of legal protection.
In 2022-23, the non-profit PAIGAM conducted a survey of 5,000 delivery and taxi workers in major Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Lucknow, in association with the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers and the University of Pennsylvania.
Its report, titled "Prisoners on Wheels?", revealed that around 55% of delivery persons work 10-12 hours a day, and around 20% work 12-14 hours.
When it comes to wages, around 64% earn between Rs 200 and Rs 600 per day, which is not enough to efficiently manage their households. Over 34% said they earned less than Rs 10,000 per month after deducting monthly expenses such as vehicle EMIs, maintenance, and challans.
Over 47% of the 5,000 delivery persons said they receive no minimum earning guarantee or incentives for meeting daily targets.
About half of India's delivery workers do not take a single day off, even though they drive 101-150 km daily. As per the report, 49.8% said they barely get 1-2 hours of leisure time per day to spend with their family and friends.
To make matters worse, the majority of delivery platforms do not provide any health or accident cover to these workers.
The same report said that about 86% of workers are not in favour of 10-minute instant deliveries pushed by quick-commerce companies such as Zepto, Blinkit, Instamart, and Flipkart Minutes.
Delivery Workers' Strike
Gig workers' unions say delivery persons working with Swiggy, Zomato, Instamart, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart joined the strike, which affected services in some cities.
On Christmas, quick-commerce deliveries had to be suspended in some areas of Gurugram and other cities.
Among the workers' demands is the withdrawal of the "10-minute delivery" model, which they allege results in accidents and injuries to drivers.
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