Delivery executives driving for Dunzo have been staying away from work in some parts of Bengaluru to protest changes in their payment structure, hitting grocery deliveries as the country’s tech hub grapples with waterlogging and flooding.
The delivery personnel struck work on September 7 and 8 at Dunzo’s XpressMart store in Frazer Town in north-east Bengaluru, leading to the suspension of deliveries to neighbouring localities.
At the time of writing, Dunzo Daily services were unavailable in Frazer Town, Benson Town, Cooke Town, Ulsoor and surrounding areas. “Dunzo Daily will be back in a while,” the message on the app read.
Delivery partners Moneycontrol spoke to outlined two primary issues—changes in the minimum guarantee for workers and the amount of time required to be logged in, as well as the Dunzo's alleged plan to reduce the number of workers in the Frazer Town area.
A delivery executive, who did not want to be named, said earlier, they would complete 27 orders in a day and earn Rs 2,000 as well as a fixed amount per kilometre for fuel. Dunzo had reduced the amount to Rs 1,225 but increased the numbers of orders to be delivered to 30 and that, too, in a span of 10 hours, he said.
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Workers allege that Dunzo required them to be logged in for at least 10 hours. “Our homes run because of Dunzo. We just want the 10-hour limit to be removed and the changes to be rolled back,” the delivery executive told Moneycontrol.
He said Dunzo was “batching orders” adding to disparity. “This is unfair. I understand why this was done but all delivery workers should be treated equally,” he said.
When orders are batched, one delivery person is assigned to deliver multiple orders in the same trip. These orders are bunched because they come from the same neighbourhood or locality and save fuel costs for the company.
Workers say that while some of them may travel to deliver one order, others may get three deliveries that are batched, adding to their target.
Another delivery person said Dunzo executives in Frazer Town said there were 650 workers in the area but they only needed 150-200 and wanted to let go of the others. This, too, has led to discontent.
Dunzo said it was business as usual in a majority of stores in the city and some partners raised issues that the company was looking at.
The company said it worked with 75,000 delivery partners across India and they were an important part of its growth journey. It had a high partner retention rate because of the benefits it offered “from one of the best incentives and reward systems, great earning opportunities to more control over their work”, a Dunzo spokesperson said in a statement.
“While it's business as usual for the majority of our stores in Bengaluru, a few partners, limited to a couple of locations, have raised certain issues and we are engaging with them to understand their concerns and work towards an effective resolution.
“We should be live in these locations also very soon. We continue to work closely with all our delivery partners to ensure that our customers get the best service,” the statement said.
The strike comes at a time when quick commerce companies have curtailed services due to rain.
As reported by Moneycontrol, in July, Dunzo delivery workers received a message that their accounts would be permanently suspended if they went on a strike.
“If this message was sent by us, we apologise for the mistake and will take necessary corrective measures,” a Dunzo spokesperson had said at the time.
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