Unhappy with the new payment system introduced by a food delivery app, a section o f food delivery partners resorted to “log off” from app drive on Friday.
At HSR Layout, a section of the food delivery partners logged off from the mobile app and held a protest. Those who logged off from the app said that their drive will continue till Sunday.
Food delivery partners have alleged that the new pay system introduced by the aggregator has adversely affected their earnings. Pratap, a food delivery partner, said in the last couple of weeks, the aggregator has introduced a new system, according to which the delivery partners have to work in fixed time slots, which are not beneficial. “We are not getting prime booking hours such as lunch or dinner time. In addition to this, incentives provided earlier for completing the targets have been withdrawn. Now we are getting paid for the travel covered from restaurant to the customer, no payments being made for distance covered to reach the restaurant. Because of these measures, our earning has significantly dropped,” he said.
He added that earlier, after working for 16 to 17 hours, he was earning between ₹2,300 and ₹2,500 per day. “Now, due to the new system, earning has dropped to ₹1,800. We are paying more than ₹500 for fuel alone. Most of the people have families and depend on daily earnings. We want more delivery partners to log off so that the aggregator attends to our grievances,” he said.
Delivery executives have also reached out to other partners through social media to participate in the drive. The United Food Delivery Partners Union (UFDPU), in a statement, demanded worker status for delivery partners.. It has also demanded that the State Government should bring out a legislation to regulate food delivery platforms.
“The present imbroglio is prompted by a new payment system introduced about a month back. In place of the earlier payout system for the number of deliveries made by the food delivery partner (FDP), the new system presents time slots naming them as ‘gigs’. This has brought down the earnings by about 30%, has increased working hours and uncertainty in getting delivery orders, resulting in terrible hardships for working FDPs,” Vinay Sarathy, president of UFDPU.
