‘Gig economy doesn’t need more regulation’: Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal on delivery agents’ strike

As the gigworkers and payscale debate unfolds on social media, founder of Zomato, which also runs Blinkit, Deepinder Goyal is at the forefront of the discussion. Goyal in his latest post said gig workers do not need any more regulations. In fact, he added, they need lesser regulations if any. 

“I repeat – gig workers is one of the largest organised job creation engines in India. And we provide insurance, fair, timely and predictable wages. Gig doesn’t need more regulation, it needs less regulation. It will bring more people into the fold, who will be able to earn some money, upskill themselves and later join India’s organised workforce. Not to mention, consistently send their kids to school - which will fundamentally change the fabric of our nation one generation later,” said Goyal. 

The entire debate came about after many gig workers called for a strike on December 31 – one of the busiest days of the year. However, while many gig workers, including delivery agents participated in the strike that called for higher pay and better benefits, platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy and magicpin revealed that they received unprecedented orders. 

The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) said over 1 lakh workers from 22 cities joined the strike, including 14,000 from major urban centres, which indicates only a small fraction of India's estimated 12.7 million gig workers. 

Goyal has also clarified in his previous tweets that unlike what is believed, their platform does not ask agents to deliver an order within 10 minutes. They are able to do so because Blinkit has a high density of stores. He said it is untrue that gig workers are being exploited.

In another tweet, Goyal said that it is the market forces that decide how much one gets paid. “And literally everyone who has a job wants to get paid more. Everyone thinks they deserve better,” he said, echoing a sentiment voiced by many who have argued against the strike. 

While many have spoken about how gig works are not permanent jobs, and are undertaken by many as a stop-gap or to make some quick money, individuals supporting the strike, including AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, have called it exploitation.