Q-comm firms dole out sops to thwart gig workers' strike

OPERATIONS ACROSS MAJOR METROS LARGELY UNAFFECTED

- ANEES HUSSAIN & YARUQHULLAH KHAN

QUICK COMMERCE PLATFORMS deployed surge incentives to counter a nationwide strike call by delivery worker unions on Tuesday, with operations remaining largely unaffected across major metros despite union claims of 150,000 participants.

Industry executives FE spoke with said that though the strike resulted in heightened disruptions in some areas of Mumbai and Hyderabad, operations were stabilised through the course of the day. A ground check at multiple dark stores of Zepto, Instamart, Blinkit and BigBasket in JP Nagar and Jayanagar areas of Bengaluru showed deliveries running normally.

"There is no strike here. Everyone is working," said Nagesh, a delivery partner at a BigBasket dark store in JP Nagar. “Our team leaders told us clearly to stay away from protests. They said it could result in ID blockage. It's month end. If they block it, we lose the entire week's earnings. We can't take that risk."