"In India, delivery riders are taking to social media to talk about their long hours and low pay", 19 September 2021

... a number of social handles whose users say they are delivery riders have been dishing the dirt on firms such as Zomato and Swiggy. The posts, which often detail pay structures at the biggest delivery companies, are adding insights to the conversation around gig work in India that wouldn’t be possible otherwise, and amplifying complaints from riders and unions.

Mumbai-based @Deliverybhoy... recently pointed out that some delivery riders aren’t being paid on schedule, and retweeted posts from other delivery riders about how much they pay for fuel versus how much they earn...

Another active account, @SwiggyDEHyd, has also been sharing pay screenshots and pointing out how platforms impose penalties that can hit workers hard...

With the outbreak of the pandemic, things only became tougher. From being hassled over lockdown restrictions despite being considered essential workers, to risking their lives to deliver in red zones with severe Covid-19 outbreaks, delivery workers faced it all...

And when the lockdown began easing last August, Swiggy changed payout structure in a way that reduced pay per order, according to workers.

...overall, workers say little has changed, and that delivery algorithms seem to be set up in such a way as to almost cap their earnings. For this reason many resist the term “delivery partners,” which platforms prefer.

The whole system is gamified, so delivery agents are baited in the beginning with lots of orders to get them hooked, then one slowly begins to notice a decline,” said @Delhiveryboy. “There are random unexplainable events where your ratings are reduced or fines are imposed and we suspect this is so that delivery agents are never made to feel they are doing too well. It pushes them to perform better, work faster and longer and always be on their toes.”

Zomato and Swiggy didn’t respond to questions from Quartz for this story...