Multiple challenges, no resolve, rue food delivery agents

Riders delivering food to people’s home rue bad working conditions, low pay as well as facing heat from both restaurants and customers

Recently, a post was doing rounds on the internet about a restaurant named Corner House Ice Creams, situated in some undisclosed location, banning the food delivery executives from using their washrooms. Previously, a mall in Udaipur had come under the scanner for not allowing the riders to use the lift in its premises.

The issues these executives face range from low pay structures, abysmal bonuses and no job security to being ill-treated by restaurant managers and their staff (Photo: Raj K Raj/HT)

And these cases are not exceptions as a Twitter account named Delivery Bhoy, keeps posting about the miserable working conditions being faced by food delivery agents.

The issues these executives face range from low pay structures, abysmal bonuses and no job security to being ill-treated by restaurant managers and their staff. Even the riders who work as long as 12 hours in a day to ensure delivery of hot and fresh food at people’s doorsteps, have to often face heat from the customers.

“Washroom kya, kai log toh paani tak offer nahi karte,” says Keemat, 29, a food delivery executive from Delhi. He recently shifted from Noida to the Kirti Nagar. He says, “Yaha restaurant wale bilkul acche tarike se baat nahi karte. Noida mein lagta tha ke restaurants ko humari zaroorat hai. Yaha shift hoke aisa feel hua jaise humein inki zaroorat. Bohot gande manner se baat karte hai kai log.”

Riders feel that they’re stuck in a catch 22 situation. “Duty toh kabhi kabhi 12 ghante ki kar lete hai kyunki incentive milta hai. Par humein toh dono taraf se sunna padta hai. Jab restaurant order late karta hai toh bhi humari complaint hoti hai. Dono taraf se humari koi khaas sunwai nahi hoti,” says Manoj Sharma, 27, who recently joined a food aggregator platform after losing his job in Covid-19.