BW Explains: What Is The Reason Behind Blinkit Workers Strike?
Around 50 of the grocery stores owned by meal delivery service Zomato's Blinkit are currently closed in various areas of Delhi-NCR as delivery partners protest the most recent modifications to the payment system.
Delivery employees of Blinkit, Zomato owned delivery service, are on strike since 12 April, 2023 for 50 per cent of the dark retailers in the NCR area, calling for the recent changes to the region's delivery incentive structures to be rolled back.
The strike by the delivery executives has majorly affected the services in the NCR region and has also garnered political attention. BW Explains looks at the entire controversy and what is irking the employees.
What is the reason for the agitation?
Zomato-owned Blinkit recently revised its payout rules for delivery partners. As per the new rules, partners will receive Rs 15 per delivery instead of Rs 25, which has irked many workers.
It may be recalled that last year, Zomato purchased Blinkit (formerly known as Grofers) for USD 550 million in order to join the "quick commerce" sector, which entails providing products to customers within a short period of time.
The impact of this agitation
Recently, 2,500 Blinkit delivery personnel stopped working in Gurugram. 31 “dark stores”, which are the distribution hubs that only serve online retailers, have been closed as a result of the protest. According to media reports, 600 employees also met with an executive from the firm, albeit no agreement was reached between the two groups.
How are the customers affected ?
Many customers in and around Delhi are familiar with Blinkit because it guarantees to deliver groceries and other kitchen essentials in less than 10 minutes. However, because of the workers' strike, a lot of residents have been having problems for the past two days. Several of the company's dark outlets in Delhi-NCR have been closed by workers.
Support to Blinkit Delivery executives
Former Delhi MLA and BJP leader Kapil Mishra has offered support to Blinkit employees working in the Delhi-NCR area. He said in a tweet that the business is "playing with the lives of lakhs of families" and treating employees harshly. Mishra has instructed the Zomato-owned business to start using the previous payment system promptly.
Blinkit के कुछ कर्मचारी आज मिलने आये
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) April 14, 2023
Blinkit अपने कर्मचारियों के साथ जो अन्याय कर रहा है वो ग़ैर क़ानूनी है
@letsblinkit मैनेजमेंट लाखों परिवारों की ज़िंदगी से खेल रहा है
ब्लिंकिट मैनेजमेंट को तुरंत पुराना पेमेंट लागू करना ही होगा
₹ 25 प्रति डिलीवरी से घटाकर ₹ 10-15…
Former Shark Tank India judge Ashneer Grover too shared his views on the issue. He tweeted that the issue is not the Rs 15 per delivery, but rather with Blinkit's business strategy. “Problem is 10Min delivery has no economics - low ticket size and low margin can never be solved through forced low delivery cost. BlinkIt journey : 90 Min (bull run) —> Next day (bear run) —> 10 Min (bull run) —> ??." - Grover tweeted.
BlinkIt / Zepto - problem is not ₹15 for delivery against ₹50. Problem is 10Min delivery has no economics - low ticket size and low margin can never be solved through forced low delivery cost. BlinkIt journey : 90 Min (bull run) —> Next day (bear run) —> 10 Min (bull run) —> ??
— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) April 16, 2023
 (1) (1)_20240624203039_original_image_38.webp)