Amid rising gig worker discontent, Reliance-backed quick commerce service, Dunzo Daily was reported unserviceable in some locations of Bengaluru on August 5 morning.

Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT) told BusinessLine that, some gig workers went on strike this morning for about 3 hours but were later asked by the union affiliates to resume work as a larger pan-India strike is being planned.

Dunzo apologises

As of 11 AM on August 5, areas like Indiranagar and Mahadevpura remained unserviceable. While Indiranagar saw the service resume after a few hours, Mahadevpura continues to be unserviceable as of 3 pm on August 5. This comes closely after Dunzo was alleged to have warned delivery executives that they will be suspended if they participate in any industry strikes. At that time, Dunzo said that it is looking into the matter, and apologized for the mistake if the message was sent by Dunzo.

Dunzo’s spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the day’s developments. About a week back, Swiggy’s delivery workers also staged a protest in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai to demand better payouts and meet their safety concerns.

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Workers’ grievances

Talking about the reasons for gig worker’s discontent, Salauddin said, “workers’ grievances are similar for all aggregator companies. One of the major issues is the pending implementation of the social security code. We have made suggestions to multiple state governments that the aggregator companies should provide health and accident insurance for drivers and delivery partners, without any minimum stipulations such as job accidents, minimum working days, minimum ratings necessary, specific conditions for work related health issues etc.”

He added that dedicated call centers should also be provided to assist the drivers and delivery partners if they face any  “untoward accident or incident, jeopardizing their safety” which might be the result of a rider/customer’s actions or due to any other circumstances. These demands are in addition to the delivery partners’ standing ask for better payouts.

In a statement last week, Salauddin said, “The promise of quick grocery delivery within 10-20 minutes by Dunzo, and the marketing gimmicks used by the company are taking a serious toll on the delivery riders. Backlash is growing both among the customers and the delivery personnel.”

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