Flash strike by platform, gig workers receives lukewarm response; mega strike on New Year's eve
NEW DELHI: The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) announced a flash strike on Thursday demanding for better wages and a national policy for gig and platform workers. Nearly 40,000 workers in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru participated in the protests. There are nearly one crore platform workers in India. A mega strike has been planned on December 31, which is expected to create disruption in the e-commerce delivery market. Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) told TNIE , We want the government to come out with a Policy for gig and platform workers with a fixed minimum wage. We are aspiring for a minimum wage of Rs 35 per delivery, when the distance touches upto 4 km. At present, the delivery person gets Rs 7 or Rs 10 or Rs 15 depending on the destination. It needs to be regularised completely. While workers get paid extra for their services on holidays, they demand for a permanent hike in wages. We have decided upon December 31 as the demand for deliveries will be very high around that time and we want the employers to take notice of the protest, Salauddin added. Elaborating on the flash strike, he said, We announced it only yesterday (Wednesday). It takes some time for the message to percolate across the country. A good number did not take part for fear of their employers blacklisting them. By flash strike, we mean workers in a particular zone announcing they are on strike for an hour or two and not carrying out any deliveries during the period. This is the biggest strike we have done so far, he said. In Hyderabad there was a bike rally at Gachibowli Kondapur where over 2,000 workers took part. The revised Labour Codes has mandated bringing the workers into the social security fold. Asked about it, the national president of IFAT, Prashant Bhagesh Sawardekar, said, The reforms have merely been announced. The implementation has not happened. If it is going to take place after ten years, it will not help the struggling workers. ID blocking is a major issue among gig workers. The employee is barred from working for the platform anymore. There is a ten-minute delivery option. Some customer complains it was not done and the ID gets blocked by the company and he cannot work on the platform anymore, he said. Employees of Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart took part in the strike on Thursday, he claimed. An official release said the protest was against unsafe working conditions, unfair pay,ID blocking and denial of dignity and social security to gig workers across the country.
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