Deepak Shenoy, CEO of Capitalmind, has joined Deepinder Goyal, creator of Eternal, in the discussion of the gig worker economy. On New Year’s Eve, thousands of people allegedly took part in a statewide walkout, calling for social security benefits, higher pay, and safer working conditions.
Delivery Distance and Time Debate
Goyal clarified in a series of tweets that each delivery partner normally drives less than two kilometers at an average pace of 15 kmph in around eight minutes to deliver to consumers.
Customers do not mind waiting even thirty minutes, according to Shenoy, but if the shops are so near together, as Goyal said, the delivery people may even walk and deliver in less than ten minutes.
Shenoy’s Personal Observation
The CEO of Capitalmind said, “It is sometimes considerably less than 10 m for me, and I do not care, I would easily wait 30 m, but the dark shop is like 200 m away, so they could walk and deliver in 10.”
Scale of the Walkout
More than 1 lakh workers from 22 cities took part in the walkout, according to PTI, which cited the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU).
Views on Worker Participation
Shenoy said, however, that the gig workers were not sufficiently “oppressed” to take part in the walkout. “The delivery workers are not taking part in the strike because they do not feel sufficiently oppressed.”
The majority of people complain about their jobs. Even founders do, but they have no one to blame. He said, “It is OK to feel that you deserve more, but giving up your salary for that request is quite another.”
Deepinder Goyal said what?
According to Deepinder Goyal, Zomato and BlinkIt, which had “record” numbers on New Year’s Eve, were unaffected by the strike.
On December 31, Zomato and its quick-commerce division, Blinkit, “delivered at a record rate,” according to Goyal. Over 4.5 lakh delivery partners from both platforms fulfilled over 75 lakh orders for over 63 lakh consumers in a single day.
Praise for Delivery Partners
He commended delivery partners who, in his words, “chose honest labor and development”, maintained their ground, and showed up under intimidation. He emphasized in a another tweet that if the order is not delivered on time, nothing occurs. “If they do not deliver on time, nothing occurs. We are aware that mistakes happen often.
Insurance and Gig Work Reality
Additionally, Goyal said that each delivery partner gets life and health insurance, pointing out that gig employment is not a permanent position and, as a result, there is no opportunity for professional advancement. He did concede that there is always room for improvement and that no system is flawless.
