Hyderabad: In light of the severe rainfall, waterlogging, and flash floods affecting various districts in Telangana and the adjacent state of Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) has expressed significant concerns regarding the safety of delivery and ride-hailing personnel.
The union has urged aggregator companies to take prompt measures to address the dangerous working conditions that gig workers are currently enduring.
A recently released video depicts a delivery worker in Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam, manoeuvring through inundated streets, where he was reportedly harassed and assaulted by an individual purporting to be a sub-inspector.
With the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Hyderabad predicting ongoing rains and thunderstorms in the upcoming week, Shaik Salauddin, the founder-president of TGPWU, emphasized the critical importance of ensuring the safety and welfare of gig workers.
In a formal statement, the union has called upon aggregator companies to halt operations in areas affected by flooding and to provide workers with a “minimum guarantee” to compensate for their lost earnings.
Additionally, the union urged delivery platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, and BigBasket to remove time-bound delivery requirements and introduce rain surcharges for workers in rainfall-affected regions.
Furthermore, the union called for essential protective gear like raincoats, phone covers, and power banks to be provided to delivery workers free of cost. TGPWU also demanded that ride-hailing companies like Uber, Ola, and Rapido offer Rs 1 lakh to drivers whose vehicles were damaged by floods for repair costs.
TGPWU is appealing to the Telangana government to issue urgent directives to ensure the safety and fair treatment of gig workers amid these severe weather conditions.
IMD Hyderabad predicts rain for next four days
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Hyderabad has forecast four more days of rain in the city. It has predicted rain or thundershowers until September 6.
The weather department has also issued a yellow alert for today and tomorrow for various districts of Telangana. It has predicted thunderstorms, lightning, squalls, and other severe weather conditions. In the past few days, heavy rainfall in Telangana has caused flooding in a few districts
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