Swiggy agent falls off train: Are gig workers treated like machines? AI with Sanket

Gig workers have become indispensable to India’s urban economy, powering everything from instant food delivery to last-mile transport. But the promise of speed and convenience has come at a growing human cost. In a wide-ranging panel discussion, Shaik Salauddin, Dilip Cherian, and Dr. Akriti Bhatia examined the risks, pressures, and accountability gaps exposed by a viral incident in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur, where a delivery worker was seen jumping off a moving train to complete a food order.

The discussion unpacked how platform-driven timelines, algorithmic pressure, and weak labour protections are reshaping work conditions for gig workers across India.

A moment that shocked viewers

The debate was triggered by visuals from Anantapur, showing a Swiggy delivery partner deboarding a moving train to hand over food ordered by a passenger. While the worker escaped serious injury, the incident raised uncomfortable questions about what delivery speed really demands from those doing the work.

Also read: Centre proposes 90 days’ work for gig workers to qualify for social security

Panellists agreed that the incident was not an isolated aberration, but a symptom of deeper structural pressures in app-based delivery work.

'Treated like machines'

Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), argued that such risks are becoming routine rather than exceptional. He said delivery workers are increasingly treated like machines rather than human beings, especially in high-pressure environments like railway stations.

He described how workers must park vehicles in chaotic station premises, buy platform tickets, navigate foot overbridges, and deliver multiple orders across coaches within minutes. Missed trains, platform delays, or damaged food often result in penalties that are deducted directly from workers’ earnings.

Also read: Zomato CEO Goyal defends gig model amid protests, safety concerns

Salauddin stressed that delivery timelines linked to train halts are fundamentally unrealistic. Trains often stop for only five or six minutes, while multiple orders are assigned simultaneously. According to him, the physical and mental stress created by these expectations has been repeatedly flagged to platform companies, but without meaningful engagement.

Collective bargaining absent

A key concern raised by Salauddin was the absence of structured dialogue between workers and platform companies. He said unions have repeatedly called for tripartite discussions involving workers, companies, and the government, but platforms have resisted sitting across the table.

Without collective bargaining, he argued, workers remain exposed to unilateral changes in pay, penalties, and work conditions, with no mechanism to contest them.

Algorithms, not Railways

Cherian, 'Image Guru', shifted the focus away from Railways and towards platform design. While acknowledging the demand for better food options on trains, he argued that the real issue lies in the service models created by delivery apps.

Also read: Zomato, Swiggy offer higher incentives to gig workers ahead of New Year

He said regulators must ask whether it is legitimate to offer delivery timelines that implicitly encourage risk-taking. In his view, the danger is embedded in the algorithms that promise speed without accounting for real-world constraints.

Cherian suggested that if such services continue, they should be limited to stations with longer halts and supported by special access passes for delivery workers. Ultimately, he said, responsibility rests with platforms that design and market these services.

The fiction of flexibility

Dr. Bhatia, sociologist and labour rights activist, sharply questioned the idea that gig work offers flexibility or freedom. She pointed out that after accidents or falls, workers often first check whether food is intact, not whether they themselves are injured, because damaged orders can trigger penalties or deactivation.

According to her, most terms of work are decided unilaterally by companies, while customer ratings and algorithms determine a worker’s livelihood. Instant ID deactivation, she said, has become a global problem for platform workers, including in the Global South.

Bhatia argued that calling workers “partners” or “independent contractors” obscures the reality that platforms control pay, assignments, penalties, and access to work. In practice, she said, this resembles coercive labour arrangements rather than flexible employment.

Global comparisons

Drawing on international examples, Bhatia noted that countries such as Mexico and Colombia are moving towards stronger labour protections for platform workers, including employee status and profit-sharing demands.

She argued that real partnership would mean workers sharing in the profits of companies that are listing on stock exchanges and attracting massive venture capital funding. Without that, she said, the term “partner” remains hollow.

Celebrity endorsements and optics

The panel also discussed how companies have responded to worker unrest by deploying celebrity campaigns and influencer endorsements rather than addressing core issues. Bhatia questioned why companies capable of offering large incentives during strikes or promotional drives do not make such pay levels standard.

Cherian added that growing public scrutiny is forcing platforms to adjust their messaging. He said that regulatory attention is increasing globally as policymakers begin to understand how algorithms drive worker precarity.

Politics enters the debate

The discussion also turned to political engagement. Salauddin welcomed instances where elected representatives have publicly engaged with gig workers, including lawmakers who have documented delivery work firsthand.

He argued that labour is a concurrent subject and that several Indian states — including Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Telangana — have already passed platform worker legislation. However, he said national-level protections remain limited to social security schemes rather than enforceable labour rights.

According to Salauddin, political parties are increasingly paying attention because gig workers now form a significant and growing electoral constituency.

In his closing remarks, Salauddin urged platform companies and governments to roll back 10-minute delivery models, calling them harmful to workers’ mental and physical health. He also called for intervention by labour ministries, courts, and human rights bodies.

Bhatia concluded by citing findings from a Paigam report based on a survey of 10,000 app-based workers. She said nearly half reported experiencing violence, over 99 per cent reported mental or physical health issues, and most earned less than Rs 10,000 a month. Many, she added, were unable to take even one day off per week.

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