Danger at my doorstep! Are aggregator apps oblivious or just negligent?

Many women who live alone can attest to the fear and anxiety they experience when opening their doors late at night, even in gated communities where security guards are present. The risk is further compounded when adjacent flats are vacant or locked. Single working women in India are on the rise, and with this, the need for safety at the doorstep becomes even more pressing. Having a CCTV camera can deter delivery persons who intend to harass a lone woman, but it offers little solace during the night. This is because a delivery partner, particularly a substitute, who is intent on committing sexual harassment may not be deterred by the likelihood of being caught on camera. By the time they are caught, the damage would have already been done, potentially leaving the woman with persistent PTSD. Such incidents not only harm the individual woman but also instil fear in the minds of other single women who order food and other items online.

The recent sexual harassment case involving a Zomato delivery partner highlights the issue of a ‘throw caution to the wind’ attitude among some delivery agents. According to reports, the delivery partner’s brother made deliveries on his behalf, without the contractor having checked his background. This raises the question of why the delivery partner did not exercise better judgement by preventing his brother from making deliveries. Did his training and the company’s code of conduct not explicitly prohibit this kind of behaviour?

It is likely that the disregard for safety shown by some delivery agents, as seen in the above-mentioned case, is due to a lack of proper training and non-adherence to a code of conduct. While the parent company, the aggregator app, may not directly hire or train delivery partners, they are still responsible for ensuring the safety of their customers and delivery partners, who wear the company’s uniform and bear its logo.

Including a clause regarding substitute workers in the code of conduct is a necessary step, but the challenge lies in ensuring that gig workers, contract workers, and blue-collar workers read, understand, and abide by the code. The multinationals, the aggregator apps, have the resources and expertise to have a comprehensive and well-thought-out code. They also have a responsibility to disseminate this code to the thousands of gig, contract, and blue-collar workers who represent the company.

While companies may already have prevention of sexual harassment policies in place to deal with sexual harassment per the PoSH Act, these policies may be insufficient to cover contracted delivery workers. Companies with ten or more employees are mandated to constitute an Internal Committee at every location. However, if delivery workers are not on the payroll of the parent company and are hired by contractors who may or may not have ten or more workers, we are dealing with two probable scenarios:

1. If the contractor has ten or more workers, they may not have an IC because of a lack of awareness or dereliction of duty & compliance.
2. If the contractor has less than ten workers, they may not be aware of their obligations under the PoSH Law, which also takes the unorganized sector into its ambit.

The solution to this challenge is to train the contractors and all the gig, contract, and blue-collar workers to understand how the law applies to them, regardless of the number of workers they have. The parent company, the aggregator app, should provide this training through various means, such as in-person training, online courses, or written material. It is important for companies to ensure that these policies are effectively communicated and implemented to ensure the safety of all workers and customers.

Who can provide this training?

At Rainmaker, we have developed an online training module as well as in-person workshops for gig, factory, and blue-collar workers to educate them on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act of 2013 and its applicability. Our industry-agnostic module, WorkSAFE Industrial, is available in Hindi and other regional languages, is presented in an easy-to-understand manner and features a well-known Anchor, Anup Soni, from the show Crime Patrol. To learn more about how the PoSH Act covers the unorganised sector, companies can also refer to blogs such as #MeToo on the Factory Floors: Training your workers in the intricacies of the PoSH Law.

Moreover, the webinar “PoSH for Blue-Collar Women Workforce” is a must-watch for companies that employ blue-collar, contractual, or gig workers, as it provides valuable information on the law and its implementation. The video of this webinar can be accessed here: Webinar on PoSH for Blue-Collar Women Workforce – Exploring Challenges & Solutions – YouTube

The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards working from home, and the e-commerce industry has also thrived during and after the pandemic, bringing the marketplace to our doorsteps. However, despite the existence of the PoSH Act for nearly a decade, women’s safety has yet to reach our homes and doors. To ensure the safety of women at the workplace and in the marketplace, it is essential that companies raise awareness and implement the PoSH Act through training. What is India Inc. waiting for?

Author: Sumali Nagarajan AVP, Content & Training Editor: Akanksha Arora AVP, Legal & Training

References:

1. Delhi Consumer forum issues notice to Zomato in sexual harassment case filed against delivery person
2. Swiggy’s policy against sexual harassment of women delivery partners lacks legal backing – The Leaflet
3. Amazon, Uber, Zomato – It’s time to PoSH up! by Pallavi Mohan

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