Swiggy delivery staff dies in Noida accident; raises questions on gig worker safety

In yet another incident of an accident involving a food-delivery staff in Noida, Kaushal Yadav, a Swiggy agent died in the wee hours of January 2 after his scooter collided with a car.

A Swiggy spokesperson confirmed the development to ET on Thursday. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our delivery partner Kaushal Yadav in a heartbreaking incident on January 2,” the company said.

“We are in constant touch with his family members and doing everything in our capacity to expedite this case, including processing insurance and offering legal support to his family,” Swiggy said.

The poor working conditions of gig workers has been widely discussed with very little social security being offered to them by delivery platforms.

In December, a 27-year-old
Zomato delivery executive was killed after his motorcycle was allegedly hit by a speeding car in Noida.

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Ola, quick commerce platform Dunzo, online pharmacy PharmEasy, and delivery platform Amazon Flex provided the
poorest conditions for gig workers in India, research firm Fairwork India said in its 2022 report on December 28.

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In the last year, as the funding environment got bleaker,
tech companies started to tighten the incentives provided to delivery workers, causing widespread protests. This has even led to services being disrupted in multiple cities across the country, as ET reported on July 28.
The
lack of attractive incentives led to a shortage of delivery workforce in top cities, leading to higher delivery times during the summer season, as ET reported on May 11. Last year, multiple tech companies started giving additional, long-term benefits to gig workers.

On September 27,
Zomato said that it started piloting a health cover worth Rs 3 lakh extendable to families for delivery workers who have been with the food delivery company for 2-3 years as a loyalty benefit.

Urban Company said that it will
allot stock options in the company worth Rs 150 crore to its gig workers – who comprise plumbers, electricians, cleaners, groomers and so on – through a ‘partner stock ownership plan’ (Psop).

India’s pension fund regulator, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), said it has recommended the central government introduce a
UK-like pension scheme for the country’s gig workers, a move aimed at bringing about 90% of the overall workforce into the pension fold.

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