Blinkit dark stores in some parts of Delhi NCR have resumed operations on Monday after a five-day-long strike by its delivery partners. The strike was called after Blinkit revised its pay structure, reducing the minimum fee from INR 25 to INR 15 per delivery.
More than 100 of Blinkit’s dark stores across Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, and Faridabad were temporarily closed during the protest, affecting services of Zomato’s quick commerce platform in the region.
Blinkit’s delivery partners had met with the Gurugram labour commissioner to resolve the pay reduction decision. A Blinkit spokesperson said that almost all stores were operational in the NCR region, and they were engaging with all delivery partners to help them understand the new pay structure.
However, ICICI Securities estimates that the five-day closure of Blinkit dark stores could lead to a 1% drop in revenue and a 0.15% fall in its consolidated revenue. The change in pay structure suggests that Zomato is trying to control costs, enabling Blinkit to expand its delivery radius for existing dark stores and improve its network coverage with limited capex spends.
The protest is not the first time gig workers have gone on strike in the past year. Foodtech platform Swiggy and quick commerce platform Dunzo faced multiple similar protests on payment structure-related issues. In response to the Blinkit strike, BigBasket, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart witnessed a surge in daily orders in Delhi NCR, ranging from 25% to 50% on their platforms.
The protest by Blinkit delivery partners highlights the challenges faced by gig workers in India’s fast-growing quick commerce industry. The industry is expected to grow significantly, driven by the increasing demand for quick delivery of essentials and other items, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, gig workers’ concerns over payment structures and incentives, coupled with the lack of job security, could continue to cause disruptions in the sector.
