‘We're All Brothers Here’: How Dark Stores Function as Workspace for Gig Workers

A few days after widespread protests by Blinkit workers, The Quint spent a day with delivery executives in Delhi.

Three warehouses belonging to Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart are located in the same building. The building and the spacious parking lot near it, are constantly buzzing with activity.

(Ashna Butani/The Quint) 

In the absence of a physical workspace, the warehouses come the closest to an office space where all delivery executives can congregate. A spirit of brotherhood prevails as it is here that riders meet fellow workers every day. Many of the ‘dark stores’ recently saw protests by Blinkit workers and some Blinkit warehouses were also shut. 

A few days after widespread protests by Blinkit workers, The Quint spent a day with delivery executives from different companies outside the warehouse and heard out their plight, navigating the unorganised gig economy, as well as their daily struggles. 

“There is a little bit of competition but at the end of the day, we are all brothers, irrespective of which company we work for,” said Avdesh, 22, a delivery partner for Zepto, outside a group of warehouses in South Delhi’s Masoodpur on a hot April afternoon. Three warehouses belonging to Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart are located in the same building. The building and the spacious parking lot near it, is constantly buzzing with activity.

At least 50 delivery partners working for each of these apps, frequent the warehouses, also referred to as ‘dark stores’. Delivery partners for Swiggy waited in front of the building’s entrance, while Zepto workers sat on the stairs in front of their warehouses. Meanwhile, Blinkit workers gathered around a tree next to their warehouse. They were glued to their phones, waiting for orders. As soon as they got one, they loaded the items from the warehouse and headed out. They mostly got orders for groceries.

Inside a Blinkit store in South Delhi. Nearly every minute, a worker entered and another headed out. Each of them have daily targets which they strive to meet.

Naresh, 42, (right), a Zepto delivery executive reached two-three hours before his evening shift. He said, “My shift begins at 6 pm but I come a few hours early. We get incentives for working during our shift hours but I want to put in a few hours extra so that I can make more money.”

A delivery executive entered the warehouse. Rohit, 30, a Zepto worker who had joined the company after he lost his job in a mall during the lockdown, said, “Most of us try to earn Rs 1,000 a day but our earnings depend on the orders that we get. So, it could range anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs 1,200 a day.”

The workers get paid ‘per order’ and get incentives if they complete certain targets. A Swiggy delivery executive said, “The target system works in such a way that it pushes us to work endlessly. For instance, I complete my first target at 17 orders but once I have reached that, my mind will automatically want to complete 20 orders to get the next incentive. This cycle continues and that is why we end up working 14–15-hour shifts... because we need the money.”

Hot sunny days are difficult for the workers but they say they are used to it. While Zepto executives have a washroom in their warehouse, others do not. A Swiggy delivery partner said, “We can get water here but we get thirsty on the streets too. Only 10 percent of customers offer us water. Many are indifferent and some even scream at us. When we work night shifts, some drunk customers pick up fights with us.”

A delivery executive told The Quint that they have to fill up a form in case they want to raise a grievance and that they get a call from the company many hours later.

On the topic of everyday discrimination, almost every delivery executive has their own story. A worker said, “Many a times, we have heavy orders to carry up eight-nine flights of stairs. The buildings have lifts, but delivery executives are not allowed to use them. Some customers tell us to take the stairs while in other buildings, the guards tell us that lifts are only for residents.”

When the workers got small breaks, they visited the nearby tea stall for ‘chai and sutta’. The workers have friends from the other companies too. Only a few Blinkit workers are present on Thursday, 20 April, as many of them were still on strike due to the reduction in their per-delivery earnings from Rs 25 to Rs 15.