A social entrepreneur has slammed Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal over his comments on gig workers, objecting to their portrayal as “miscreants”. Anand Sankar said delivery workers are the backbone of platform-based businesses and should not be spoken about in a derogatory manner.
Sankar’s comments came after delivery partners linked to several food and grocery platforms, including Zomato, went on strike on December 31. The workers demanded higher pay and improved working conditions.
Following the strike, Goyal said that “local law enforcement helped keep the small number of miscreants in check”, allowing Zomato and its quick-commerce arm Blinkit to complete over 75 lakh deliveries on New Year’s Eve.
Sankar, who runs an apple e-tailing business in Uttarakhand, said he decided to speak out despite being warned that his criticism could hurt his business prospects.
He said he was told that venture capital firms were closely observing his public statements and that Goyal himself could be a future investor. He was also cautioned that he might need to approach Blinkit for a product listing, and that speaking openly could damage those chances.
“Being outspoken about issues I care about is who I am and this won't change, especially when this issue of gig workers is central to the industry where I run my business,” Sankar said.
The founder of Tons Valley Shop acknowledged that Goyal had taken steps for delivery workers’ welfare, including offering insurance cover.
However, he said he was deeply upset by gig workers being labelled as “miscreants” for demanding their rights.
“Your life has been built on their sweat,” Sankar wrote in a now-viral post on X.
Sankar, who also founded Sayb Apples, said his concern for gig workers grew from personal experiences during the early days of his business.
In 2020, when he was handling a few hundred weekly orders from his home in Dehradun, he often loaded shipments into his own car.
On one occasion, after transporting nearly 600 kg of apples from the mountains, he expected a small goods vehicle to collect 320 kg of produce. Instead, a single delivery rider arrived on a motorcycle with an oversized bag.
The rider told Sankar he planned to make three or four trips, carrying 60 to 70 kg of apples each time on his two-wheeler.
Sankar immediately refused, saying the plan was unsafe. He said he argued with Delhivery and declined to hand over the consignment until a proper vehicle was arranged.
“The call came from Delhivery and we had an argument, I refused to handover orders till a chota hathi came or they sent 10 riders. They sent a chota hathi the next day,” he said.
He added that the company later began consulting him on vehicle choices for every pickup. “Change happened at least for my orders,” he said.
Another incident in Bengaluru further reinforced his views. A delivery agent was asked to deliver a 10 kg box of apples to an eighth-floor flat on Bannerghatta Road, but was not allowed to enter the building.
The customer insisted the agent carry the box upstairs, while the security guard refused access. The situation escalated, with the customer verbally abusing the delivery worker.
Because fresh produce could not be returned, the agent’s supervisor contacted Sankar for help.
Sankar spoke directly to the agent in the local language and found him extremely distressed after the abuse.
After confirming the customer’s behaviour with the building guard, Sankar called the customer, reprimanded him, issued an immediate refund, and told the agent to keep the apples.
The agent shared the box with his colleagues. Sankar said the gesture had a lasting impact, as the worker went on to regularly order apples for his office and still places an annual order for his family, even after leaving the logistics sector.
Sankar also recalled an experience with Blue Dart. After a warehouse drop one evening, staff expressed interest in buying apples themselves after seeing the invoice.
Instead, Sankar sent five boxes of apples for the night-shift staff with the next consignment. When he later learnt that day-shift workers had missed out, he sent five more boxes for them as well.
He said the practice has since become an annual tradition before Diwali, as a way of recognising warehouse workers.
In 2025, Sankar said he was alarmed after seeing a differently-abled Swiggy delivery partner riding a two-wheeler in Versova with only one arm.
“It alarmed me how the ops at Swiggy was allowing this. I raised it here on X,” he said.
He added that after repeatedly flagging the issue, Swiggy’s operations team assured him the matter would be addressed and that such workers would be moved to safer, alternative roles.
Curated by Maria Santos
