Ordering in food this weekend may not be easy; Swiggy delivery agents boycott work

BENGALURU: Those who are thinking of ordering in food and spending the weekend indoors, watch out. Online food aggregator Swiggy’s delivery agents have not been reporting to work for the second straight day seeking fulfilment of their demands.

Swiggy’s delivery agents have been gathering in front of hotels since Friday and boycotting work in several parts of the city. They say that they will not turn up for work or deliver any orders till their demands are met. They have not been picking up orders in several areas including Malleswaram, Sahakara Nagar and Yelahanka.

The delivery agents say that earlier, they used to get Rs 8 for every kilometre, but this has now been reduced to Rs 4. “We used to get Rs 10,000 per year, which stopped during the lockdown. Now everything is normal, but the allowance has not been restored. We don’t have benefits like ESI or PF”, said a delivery agent.

“Third parties like Shadowfax, Dunzo and Rapido are being given Rs 30-40 per order. We are not getting local orders, but distant orders which are 15-20 km away”, said Gautam, a delivery agent.

“Earlier, we could earn Rs 1,000, in 6-8 hours, but now we have to put in 14 hours. In that, about Rs 400 goes towards fuel expenses and Rs 200 towards our food. We are left with only Rs 400 in a day”, said Sridhar, another delivery agent who has been working for the last five years.