Hyderabad: In an effort to resolve the daily challenges faced by gig workers while navigating city roads, a membership-based centre, ‘Upzy House’, was officially launched on High-Tension Line Road in Kondapur, on Friday, October 2.
Workers delivering for Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, JioMart, Rapido, or offering doorstep services through Urban Company can obtain membership here.
They get access to air-conditioned seating, hygienic washrooms, quality breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with mobile charging facilities. Free doctor consultations are provided Monday through Saturday (from 9 am to 5 pm). Recreational facilities such as table tennis, carrom, and chess are also available.
A nominal membership fee of Rs 99 per week or Rs 349 per month has been set for these services.
Recognising the absence of clean restrooms and safe waiting spaces, a dedicated private lounge has also been set up at this centre exclusively for women gig workers.
Telangana Minister for Labour and Employment G. Vivek Venkatswamy was invited as the chief guest to the event.
Gig workers spending 10 hrs on the road without basic amenities
A six-month study conducted by the ‘Upzy’ team covering 4,163 gig workers in Kondapur and surrounding dark-store clusters found that 68 per cent of them spend more than 10 hours a day on the roads.
Due to a complete lack of basic amenities during working hours, 90 per cent stated that they use the roadside or inconvenient public toilets. Only 5 per cent reported that the platform aggregators they work for provide adequate washroom access.
Co-founder and chief executive officer of Upzy, Aditya Vuchi, stated that most digital platforms treat delivery riders merely as a cost item, but for them, the rider is the primary customer.
“Since they pay us a membership fee, it is our responsibility to provide them with the best service every single day. If the quality drops, they will not return. We will launch more centres across Hyderabad until every gig worker in the city has a facility within reach of their working zone,” he said during the inauguration.
Founder and president of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, Shaik Salauddin, remarked that there was no other facility like this anywhere in the country and urged the government to partner with Upzy for upcoming public worker restrooms.
He said that the maintenance costs should be allocated from the Gig Worker Welfare Board cess funds to ensure that the system runs smoothly.
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