Dear investors, 

The businesses you’re betting on, are violating all principles of fair work, and exploiting the foot soldiers of India’s thriving internet economy.

Your portfolio companies – Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo, Zepto and Blinkit – are promising to deliver cooked food and groceries to our homes in under 10 minutes. This promise is jeopardizing the lives of food delivery workers. 

They’re having to drive over the speed limit, jump traffic signals, all to satisfy the cravings of privileged Indians. 

The fact that an average delivery partner earns Rs 20-30 as the minimum payout per order just saddens me. To supplement this meagre income, delivery workers have to really strive to earn incentives to keep themselves afloat. They earn these incentives or bonuses if they deliver a certain number of orders during the peak hours. For this, they have to drive fast, which leaves them more prone to road accidents.

Delivery workers also face discrimination at restaurants while picking up orders, and at residential societies while delivering. They aren’t allowed to use restrooms at restaurants. In residential areas, there are long-drawn entry procedures. Further, uncouth residents ask them to take the stairs instead of the elevator. 

Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo, Zepto and Blinkit claim that they don’t penalize their drivers for late deliveries. Delivery workers have unequivocally disputed this claim.

Several of them have also told journalists that WARNINGS flash on their app if they take more than 10 minutes to deliver the order. Store managers make their lives more cumbersome, with threats of transferring them to another locale if they don’t improve their turnaround time (TAT). 

This information is already available in news articles in Reuters, The Verge, The Quartz, The Wire and several others. But I’m stating it again, because it seems you haven’t noticed the poor work conditions for gig workers that your portfolio companies have normalized. 

Is the entire game of startup valuations based on shorter turnaround times for food delivery? Why is this race to the bottom – all of these startups are increasing their losses every year – happening at the expense of delivery workers, the most important cog in this supply chain. 

If you’re going to term what I’ve written above as populist, I’d like to point out that Prof Balaji Parthasarathy, Lead Investigator for Fairwork in India has also said that the 10-minute delivery model is intensifying the pressures that delivery workers already face, because of which they’re having to take risks such as driving fast and in a rash manner. They’re taking these risks against the backdrop of non-existent or poorly drafted accident insurance and grievance redressal policies. 

Watch this video to learn more about how the phenomenon of 10-minute delivery is inextricably linked with India's growing income inequality. 

You must ensure that your venture capital firms stop bankrolling the 10-minute delivery promise. It has worsened the plight of delivery workers. As responsible investors, you must take a collective stand to not back market practices that contribute to the exploitation of gig workers. You must immediately ask these companies – where you are also board members – to stop these marketing gimmicks. 

As a Member of Parliament, I urge the citizens to share their suggestions here on my online petition and also on my twitter handles @KartiPC with the hashtag #DontNeedIn10Min