With a fuel frenzy in Hyderabad triggered due to the truckers’ strike, it was a nightmarish experience for gig and platform workers. They struggled to meet delivery and passenger drop deadlines, and with no fuel in tanks, had no choice but to go offline during peak hours.
“You should have filled diesel in your cab before accepting this ride,” a passenger rudely retorted when Nagesh, an Uber driver, tried to explain to him that he was low on fuel.
“The situation today was horrible for me. Instead of over 15 trips per day, I had could do only two because I was out of diesel,” Nagesh, who did not wish to share his full name, told The Hindu. “I was in the queue at a petrol bunk in Himayatnagar for over an hour but I couldn’t get any diesel. Then I went to go to a petrol Bunk in Barkatpura, but here too I was unlucky. I had no choice but to park my car on the road, call a friend, and go back home on his two-wheeler.”
On the other hand, gig workers engaged in food and grocery delivery had no choice but to go offline. “Many delivery boys said that they ran out of petrol. Our WhatsApp groups were full of such messages. I too ran out of petrol and had to go offline just before peak time, which starts around 4.30 p.m. and picks up by 6.30 p.m.,” said G Srikanth, who works as a delivery partner for a food delivery aggregator.
Mr. Srikanth pointed out that usually he fills a litre or two every day. The lorry drivers’ strike and the ensuing chaos at petrol bunks caught him unawares.
“I did not realise that the strike would have this kind of an effect. We have a lot of expenses to consider to, so to expect us to spend money to get a full tank of petrol is not right,” he said.
He is now worried penalties the aggregator is likely to levy on him for a delay in delivery. “After the customer raises a ticket, we get a call from the company and are asked to explain. It is up to them now. I began work early today, I managed to deliver four orders. But this is fewer than my deliveries on any normal day,” he said.
Much like the striking truckers, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union too expressed its opposition and demanded a withdrawal of the sections which penalise drivers who are involved in hit-and-run cases.
Shaik Salauddin, an office-bearer opined that the new sections would would result in a shortage of drivers in an industry which is grappling with paucity.
“Provision of up to 10 years of imprisonment and up to ₹7 lakh of fine in hit-and-run cases has created panic among drivers and many of them are contemplating to quit this job, while the same will also discourage youth to enter this field,” he feared.
