Amazon’s delivery network in Pune has come to a halt after delivery workers went on strike on March 16 in protest of the company’s lack of pay and insurance coverage. The strike has affected around 20 delivery hubs in the city, delaying deliveries of orders placed on the platform. One delivery person from the protest said that they were doing so because the company is continuously reducing the cut that they make from each delivery.
According to another person on strike- On March 15, Amazon announced a new policy under which the delivery person will be paid Rs 10 for delivering small packages and Rs 15 for tempo deliveries. Earlier they were paid 35 rupees per delivery. The recent increase in the petrol price and this new policy has made life much more miserable for the delivery guys. And also, according to some other people in the protest, Amazon doesn’t offer any health insurance cover for these people. The delivery job is a very risky job and some sort of insurance should be there.
In essence, the strikers are demanding that their delivery earnings be restored to previous levels, as well as that Amazon provide them with basic health insurance coverage.
Another protestor claimed that Amazon has pressed them to conduct know your customer (KYC) checks on Amazon Pay users. While it is not required, a third delivery employee claims that Amazon has threatened to not give them items to deliver if they do not complete customer KYC.
Amazon did not respond to questions about the strike or the concerns raised by their delivery staff, including not acknowledging the strike. The company said in an email stating that there have been delays in delivering packages in some parts of Pune and that customers have been notified.
