KOCHI: Online food delivery partners were already a harried lot. And Wednesday’s 24-hour statewide strike called by the Kerala Hotel & Restaurant Association (KHRA), to protest the sharp increase in commercial LPG prices, left them without any work — and lost earnings. Last week, LPG prices for 19kg cylinders were raised Rs 993, with the cost of a cylinder crossing Rs 3,100 in many parts of the state.
“Earnings have been lean for the past month,” said Jiji Jomon, a Swiggy partner in Kottayam. “On Wednesday, nearly all restaurants had downed their shutters and those that functioned refused online orders. The only establishments working were the big food chains such as KFC and Subway, and those functioning inside hangout places and malls. Sitting out the strike has put a dent in our earnings, which had become meagre of late,” she said.
According to her, gig work has begun to lose its sheen. “Unlike in the past, when a delivery person could make over Rs 25,000 a month, nowadays, our earnings have halved,” said Jiji. She took up gig work attracted by its flexible work schedule and good earnings.
CITU national secretary K N Gopinath echoed the views. “Things have been tough for gig workers for some time.
The war in West Asia and the subsequent closure of restaurants due to LPG shortage hit them hard. Even now, with many hotels and restaurants having reopened, order numbers have failed to pick up,” he said. According to him, one of the major reasons is the increase in food prices.
According to Jiji, changes made by platforms to rules associated with remuneration have also adversely affected gig workers’ earnings. “Earlier, we used to get Rs 20 per four kilometres, but now that has been changed to Rs 27 per six kilometres. Of course, you get paid a surge price if you do deliveries at night or in inclement weather, but it’s just that,” she added.
Even as online food delivery was affected in the state, in certain parts of Kochi, some eateries took orders and operated with their shutters ajar. “They didn’t have dine-in. They just took online orders,” said Christy K, a delivery partner.