Hyderabad: The statewide on-going protests by Swiggy delivery executives in the city entered its ninth day on Wednesday, and also witnessed a new form of protest with the employees coming on their knees while demanding the food delivery company to address their demands.
The indefinite strike began by Swiggy food delivery executives from September 15 by more than 3,500 delivery boys against the reduction of order earning, incentive and per km charges.
“Police have denied permission for a protest in IT corridor. The company is refusing to enter into any kind of negotiations with the protesting delivery executives. The main demand of the strike about the restoration of previous payout of Rs. 35 for 4km remain unfulfilled. Delivery executives who are protesting in a peaceful and non – violent way were threatened by the management,” alleged Shaik Salauddin General Secretary Indian Federation of App based Transport workers (IFAT).
Salahuddin claimed that the Swiggy management has threatened to block the access of the app for the protesting employees. Meanwhile, state Labour department authorities have however not intefered in the matter so far. “Other cities across India are likely to join the strike in the coming days. The management cannot stay silent to the demands of the delivery partners and have to resolve these issues as soon as possible. They can’t keep on threatening and scaring them by closing down app access or bringing in third party operators like Shadowfax and Rapido. They have to answer our demands,” Salauddin added.
During the weekend many restaurants across the city were unserviceable forcing customer to use Zomato or opt for takeaway. Even though many people are participating in the strike company is falsely claiming that only twenty per cent are participating in the strike. Majority of the delivery executives in major zones of the city continue to participate in the strike