Will you filter vegetarian delivery workers, gig union asks Zomato

March 20, 2024 06:04 pm | Updated 06:04 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

Reacting to Zomato’s plans of rolling out a ‘pure veg fleet’, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), a body that works for the welfare of gig workers, sought to know whether the food delivery app would also filter out delivery workers who are vegetarian.

TGPWU president Shaik Salauddin, in a statement, said: “If Zomato has today launched a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ in response to customer feedback and requirement, will it then take feedback from customers regarding who can deliver their food and who cannot? Will it filter delivery executives by caste, community, and religion?”

Mr. Salauddin reiterated that in the past, Zomato had stood by a delivery worker after a customer had complained about having to accept food from a Muslim delivery worker. Zomato founder and Chief Executive Officer Deepinder Goyal had commented about the “idea of India” and the diversity of Zomato’s customers and partners.

“We would like to ask Deepinderji: Will Zomato assure its delivery workers that it will also address the safety and dignity of our delivery brothers and sisters in the future?” Mr. Salauddin asked.

Our Q to @deepigoyal on Zomato's "Pure Veg Fleet" announcement: Will Zomato now also filter out delivery workers who r vegetarian only to service this fleet? Will @zomato in the future also take customer feedback about who can deliver their food and who cannot? Read PRESS NOTE 👇 https://t.co/JZFkFi2ChOpic.twitter.com/QPwRo84sHY — Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (@TGPWU) March 19, 2024

While there were several who welcomed Zomato’s decision, there was a considerable amount of outrage and concern over Zomato’s latest service.

Mr. Goyal on Wednesday took to X to announce that the company had rolled back the idea of on-ground segregation of the fleet in which delivery workers would wear green, denoting the “pure vegetarian fleet”. All delivery workers would wear red, he stated.

Update on our pure veg fleet —

While we are going to continue to have a fleet for vegetarians, we have decided to remove the on-ground segregation of this fleet on the ground using the colour green. All our riders — both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will… — Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) March 20, 2024

“This will ensure that our red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food, and blocked by any RWAs or societies during any special days… our riders’ physical safety is of paramount importance to us. We now realise that even some of our customers could get into trouble with their landlords, and that would not be a nice thing if that happened because of us,” he wrote.