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‘Miscreants kept in check’: Zomato CEO says after gig workers’ strike
In a LinkedIn post on Thursday, Goyal said local authorities helped enable over 450,000 delivery partners across Zomato and Blinkit to fulfill more than 7.5 million orders. “Support from local law enforcement helped keep the small number of miscreants in check,” he wrote.
New Delhi: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said on Thursday that a “small number of miscreants” were kept in check by law enforcement officials during a nationwide strike by gig workers on New Year’s Eve, as the platform recorded its highest-ever single-day order volumes.
In a LinkedIn post on Thursday, Goyal said local authorities helped enable over 450,000 delivery partners across Zomato and Blinkit to fulfill more than 7.5 million orders. “Support from local law enforcement helped keep the small number of miscreants in check,” he wrote.
“I am grateful to local authorities across the country and to our teams on the ground for clear enforcement and swift coordination,” Goyal stated. He also thanked delivery partners who “showed up despite intimidation.”
The comments followed a strike organised by unions such as the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, which demanded better pay, safety conditions, and social security benefits.
Goyal defended the gig economy model, suggesting that if it were “fundamentally unfair,” it would not attract so many workers. He called the sector “one of India’s largest organized job creation engines” and urged partners not to be swayed by “narratives pushed by vested interests.”
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) responded to Goyal’s post on social media platform X: “@zomato @deepigoyal is misguiding the media and consumers. Shame on you! The strike was historic and very successful.
“Thank you to all #Zomato workers and other #platformworkers who participated in the strike and made it a big success!”
GIPSWU claimed that more than 100,000 workers from 22 cities joined the protest and that the “workers said loud and clear that we won’t back down at any cost.” The union alleged in the post that the delivery platforms threatened and intimidated the union work and their right to protest.
“Companies make mockery of our brave stand, laughing while we bleed for their millions in profits,” GIPSWU added.
