Capitalmind CEO chimes in on Deepinder Goyal’s gig worker debate – ‘Everyone cribs about their job, but…’

Capitalmind CEO Deepak Shenoy joins Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal in the discussion on the gig economy; Thousands reportedly took part in a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve to demand better wages, safer working conditions and social security benefits.

In a series of tweets, Goyal revealed that each delivery partner covers less than two kilometers in around 8 minutes at an average speed of 15 kmph to deliver to customers.

Shenoy said customers don’t mind waiting even 30 minutes, but if the stores are in such close proximity, as Goyal said, delivery drivers can make deliveries on foot in less than 10 minutes.

“Sometimes it’s much less than 10 meters for me and I don’t care, I would easily wait 30 minutes, but the dark store is about 200 meters away, so they can deliver in 10 minutes by walking,” the Capitalmind CEO said.

More than 1 lakh workers participated in the strike across 22 cities, PTI reported, citing the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU).

However, Shenoy claimed that workers did not feel “pressured” enough to join the strike. “The reason the delivery drivers didn’t join the strike is because they didn’t feel under enough pressure.”

“Almost everyone cries about their job. Even founders do it, but they have no one to blame. It’s okay to feel like you deserve more, but giving up your income for that desire is another thing entirely,” he said.

What did Deepinder Goyal say?

Deepinder Goyal claimed that the attack did not actually affect Zomato and BlinkIt, which reached “record” numbers on New Year’s Eve.

Goyal said Zomato and its flash commerce unit Blinkit “delivered at a record pace” on December 31; More than 4.5 lakh delivery partners on both platforms fulfilled more than 75 lakh orders for more than 63 lakh customers in a single day.

He praised delivery partners who, in his opinion, “showed up despite intimidation, stood their ground and chose to work honestly and move forward.”

In a separate tweet, he explained that if the order is not delivered on time, nothing will happen. “If they don’t deliver on time, nothing happens. We understand that most of the time things go wrong.”

Goyal also stated that every delivery partner has health and life insurance and noted that temporary work is not a permanent job and therefore there is no career progression in the profession.

However, he acknowledged that no system is perfect and is always open to improvement.