Tag Archives: Swiggy

Dark Side of Gig Economy: Ola, Uber, and Porter Provide Poor Working Conditions for Workers, Slams Report

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Ride-hailing giants Ola and Uber, along with logistics company Porter, offer poor working conditions for gig workers, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The report by Bengaluru-based Fairwork India highlights the concerning labor standards within India’s platform economy, stressing the urgent need for improvements in the working conditions of gig workers.

The report reveals that many drivers are trapped by the promises made by platforms like Ola and Uber, facing shifting customer behavior and impersonal support systems.

Natarajan, a 44-year-old veteran driver from Chennai, likened these companies to “vittal poochi” (winged termites), which lure drivers with enticing promises but fail to deliver on them. Drawn by Ola’s offers, Natarajan became a driver for the company in 2017 but soon witnessed a decline in benefits.

“Once the companies gained our trust, they started reducing the offers and opportunities they initially provided,” Natarajan explained. “But now we’re stuck; it’s nearly impossible to step outside of Ola or Uber and start our own independent taxi services.”

He also noted that the rise of these platforms has influenced public behavior, making it difficult for drivers to operate outside their ecosystem. Features like “constant tracking and emergency support” have won the public’s trust, making these platforms seem safer than traditional cab services.

Additionally, Natarajan pointed out that automation has made it harder for drivers to raise concerns. “The automated AI responses feel detached and uncaring. They always say, ‘We will take this into consideration,’ but nothing changes.”

The report was based on interviews with 440 workers from 11 platforms in five cities. It evaluated the platforms based on five key principles: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation.

The platforms assessed included Amazon Flex, Bigbasket, BluSmart, Flipkart, Ola, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto, and Zomato, which offer location-based services across various sectors such as personal care, logistics, food delivery, and transportation.

Swiggy Increases IPO Size to $1.4 Billion, Plans to Expand ‘Instamart’

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In a significant development in India’s burgeoning IPO market, SoftBank-backed food delivery giant, Swiggy, has received approval from its shareholders to increase the size of its fresh issue in its upcoming IPO. The approval will allow the company to raise the fresh issue size to 50 billion rupees ($595 million), a substantial increase from the previously planned 37.5 billion rupees. This information was disclosed by individuals privy to the matter on Thursday, 10th March 2024.

The Indian IPO market has been on a tear, with approximately 250 companies raising over $9 billion so far this year. This figure is more than double the amount raised during the same period last year, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). The increase in Swiggy’s fresh issue size will further boost this trend, contributing to the market’s robust growth.

Swiggy’s existing shareholders will sell shares worth 66.64 billion rupees, a figure that remains unchanged despite the increase in the fresh issue size.

Swiggy’s IPO: A New Benchmark

The increase in the fresh issue size will push the total size of Swiggy’s initial public offering to $1.4 billion, up from the previously planned $1.25 billion. This makes Swiggy’s IPO one of the largest in the country this year, surpassing NTPC Green Energy’s $1.2 billion public offering filing.

Swiggy, headquartered in Bengaluru, had filed its draft papers for the IPO last week. The company is reportedly targeting a valuation of $15 billion, a testament to its rapid growth and dominant position in India’s food delivery market. However, Swiggy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these developments.

The company’s investment plans following the IPO are ambitious and forward-looking. A key focus area is the expansion of its quick-commerce business, ‘Instamart’.

Instamart: The Future of Quick Commerce

This service aims to deliver everything from groceries to higher-margin electronics in just 10 minutes, a feat that would revolutionize the e-commerce landscape. Swiggy’s rivals, including Zomato and Zepto, are also racing to establish their presence in this promising segment.

The shareholder approval for the upsized IPO marks a significant milestone for Swiggy. The main shareholder in the company, SoftBank, has been instrumental in supporting Swiggy’s growth and will likely play a crucial role in the IPO process. The upsized IPO, approved on Thursday, 10th March 2024, will provide Swiggy with additional resources to execute its ambitious growth plans.

Historically, the upsizing of IPOs has been a strategy employed by companies expecting strong investor demand. For instance, in 2020, Snowflake Inc., a cloud-based data warehousing startup, upsized its IPO due to overwhelming investor interest, raising $3.4 billion and marking the largest software IPO in history.

Similarly, Swiggy’s decision to upsize its IPO could be indicative of strong investor confidence in the company’s growth prospects and the overall potential of India’s digital economy.

Moonlighting: Wipro cracks whip, fires 300 employees found working with rival companies

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Following uproar among IT companies on many workers indulging in moonlighting, Wipro had warned against it and now took stern action firing 300 employees for moonlighting with its key rivals at the same time.

Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji said in Wednesday that the “reality is that there are people today working for Wipro and working directly for one of our competitors and we have actually discovered 300 people in the last few months who are doing exactly that.”

Speaking at the All India Management Association (AIMA) National Management Convention, Premji reiterated that moonlighting is a complete violation of integrity “in its deepest form.” Wipro has now terminated their employment for “act of integrity violation”.

Premji recently said that the concept of a second job to the regular job is “plain and simple” cheating. “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating — plain and simple,” he had tweeted.

As the issue of moonlighting or working elsewhere to make extra money in India is plaguing many tech giants after the Work From Home concession that entailed them work remotely, several Indian tech giants are facing the challenge to keep their workforce committed and focused.

The ethical issue has been raised by tech services giant Infosys first, followed by cloud Major IBM last Wednesday. Infosys has already made it clear that the practice is not ethical and the company may fire those who are moonlighting.

Rishad Premji

However, Wipro has become the first to fire its employees who are moonlighting. Infosys, IBM are still pondering the issue though they are with the industry against moonlighting.

IBM Managing Director  Sandip Patel said, “All of our workers when they are employed, they sign an agreement which says that they are going to be working full-time for IBM. So moonlighting is not ethically right for them to get into.”

However, some startups are encouraging employees to opt for moonlighting or work outside their primary working hours. Swiggy has encouraged the practice but the traditional companies are calling it cheating and unethical and issued warning to employees from practising Moonlighting even in extra hours.

 

In one case, a techie who was interviewed by a Hyderabad-based company and hired in turn hired another techie to work on his behalf, while he is engaged in working on other projects. He has been summarily fired now but the issue has brought to light the glaring anomaly in misuse of a pact with the company.

Infosys has already warned employees that involvement in such practice can result in “disciplinary action including termination of employment”. “No two-timing, no moonlighting”, the company said in an internal memo.

What’s Moonlighting? Infosys bans, IBM warns, Wipro cracks whip

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As the issue of moonlighting or working elsewhere to make extra money in India is plaguing many tech giants after the Work From Home concession that entailed tech employees work remotely, several Indian tech giants are facing the challenge to keep their workforce committed and focused.

The ethical issue has been raised by tech services giant Infosys first, followed by cloud Major IBM on Wednesday. Infosys has already made it clear that the practice is not ethical and the company may fire those who are moonlighting.

However, no company has so far issued any framework to monitor its employees who are moonlighting as legally it is still daunting to gather evidence and withstand legal suits in courts. Secondly, the problem is not new in smaller and minor companies which have been struggling to pay higher wages to employees to retain them. Often, they blink to let the workforce work elsewhere in non-working hours.

Moreover, the issue is legally overwhelming for the companies as strict guidelines or framework of supervising or monitoring employees is often termed as violation of privacy rules in many courts and they may stand loose the legal battle even after firing such employees.

But the issue has already bogged down even major companies. Besides infosys, IBM Managing Director  Sandip Patel said that the company’s position is exactly that of the overall industry in the country. “All of our workers when they are employed, they sign an agreement which says that they are going to be working full-time for IBM. So moonlighting is not ethically right for them to get into,” he said.

However, some startups are encouraging employees to opt for moonlighting or work outside their primary working hours. Swiggy has encouraged the practice but the traditional companies are calling it cheating and unethical and issued warning to employees from practising Moonlighting even in extra hours.

In one case, a techie who was interviewed by a Hyderabad-based company found that he hired another techie to work on his behalf, while he is engaged in working on other projects. He has been summarily fired now but the issue has brought to light the glaring anomaly in misuse of a pact with the company.

Infosys has already warned employees on Monday against moonlighting, saying that involvement in such practice can result in “disciplinary action including termination of employment”. “No two-timing, no moonlighting”, the company said in an internal memo, adding that it “strictly discourages dual employment”.

Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji recently said that the concept of a second job amounts clearly to “plain and simple” cheating. “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating — plain and simple,” he emphasised.