Gig Workers At This Food Delivery Platform Can Now Avail Free Ambulance Services: Know More

In a first-of-its-kind measure, food delivery platform Swiggy has announced the rollout of an ambulance service dedicated for delivery executives and their dependents in cases of emergencies. The move brings in an element of safety and security that most often does not reach gig workers. Through Swiggy's new collaboration, delivery executives can reach out on a toll-free number (1800 267 4242) or tap the SOS button in case of an emergency and access the free ambulance service.

Help Is A Call Away

The on-demand convenience platform has partnered with Dial 4242 to provide free ambulance service for all their active delivery executives and their dependents. These services can be reached via a toll-free number (1800 267 4242), or if making a call might not be an option, executives can tap the SOS button without leaving the partner app. The free services would be offered without demanding any documentation and would only need the delivery executives to confirm their partner ID.

Earlier the government think tank NITI Aayog had conducted a study that estimated the gig economy to expand from 77 lakh workers in 2020-21 to 2.35 crore people by 2029-30. As gig workers are employed outside the traditional employer-employee pattern, they tend to face several challenges in terms of social security, gratuity, minimum wage protection, and fixed working hours. Providing a solution to this, the NITI Aayog study cited an Indonesian model that offers accident and other insurance to workers through digital mechanisms.

The study suggested that this model can be adopted among the ride-hailing, delivery and e-commerce platforms and provide a form of insurance and security to their workers across India. "These may be offered in collaboration with the private sector or government, as envisaged under the Code on Social Security, 2020," added the NITI Aayog study. With Swiggy taking inspiration from the same and partnering with the ambulance services, it has marked an industry-first initiative that would hopefully expand to other platforms.

Timely Care Reaches Gig Workers

Swiggy launched the service after conducting pilot experiments across the metropolitan cities of Bangalore, Delhi, NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Kolkata. In the trial run, the service's response time was noted to be an average of 12 minutes. Additionally, the Dial 4242 services will be dispatched based on the severity of the emergency cases. So, according to the case reported, different Ambulances, from a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance to an Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Interstate ambulances, can be sent across.

All these services will be provided free of cost to all the active delivery executives and their dependents - spouses and up to two children, who are covered under the insurance. The delivery executives can also avail the ambulance services at a subsidised cost for the family members that are not covered under their insurance. Talking about the move, the Head of Operations at Swiggy, Mihir Rajesh Shah, said, "Our delivery executives make lakhs of deliveries every day; however, emergencies tend to strike without warning." The free ambulance service that is fast, on-demand, and comprehensive is one way through which the company backs their executives and extends a helping hand whenever in need.

A report by the Hindu Business Line quoted the co-founder of Dial4242, Jeetendra Lalwani, conveying his joy over the collaboration and the support they hope to provide to the gig workers in getting timely treatment. He also added that the move would hopefully set the precedence for more platforms to follow.

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