Blinkit delivery man, who earlier went viral with his video, was invited for lunch by AAP MP Raghav Chadha. The invitation came after a Rajya Sabha MP raised the issue of “invisible work” in Parliament.
“Every day we press a button on our mobile app and we get a notification: ‘Your order is on its way’. Often behind that notification is a person we don’t recognize,” Chadha told parliament.
The Delhi-based politician talked about delivery drivers working for Blinkit, Swiggy, Zomato, Ola Zepto and Uber. He also talked about Urban Company.
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No matter what the weather conditions are, they come without any protective gear and dangerous additions, he said. They are someone’s father, brother, husband and son. They need to be taken care of, he added.
“In official parlance they are called gig workers. But I call them the invisible wheels of the Indian economy,” Chadha added.
Chadha watched the video of an Uttarakhand delivery boy who runs an Instagram channel called Thapliyal Ji Vlogs. The delivery man said in his viral video that he only made money ₹763 after completing 28 deliveries in almost 15 hours.
The vlogger doesn’t have much of a social media presence. He has only 287 subscribers on YouTube and 1275 followers on Instagram. However, he asks everyone to keep creating content. Nobody knows when you’ll be big, he said.
His video raised serious concerns about the low income, long working hours and lack of social security for delivery drivers. In his video, he also talked about the day-to-day challenges of an app-based job. The sector’s widening effort-earnings gap has once again come into focus.
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The delivery man’s meeting with the politician took place on December 22. The vlogger showed how he got to the meeting.
In the viral video, he says he thinks it’s a prank. There is no real meeting.
“We don’t know how to dress, whether to wear old or new clothes. Should we look poor or rich?” his partner wondered.
“A viral video rocked the system and today the conversation went straight to Raghav Chadha. The real issues of delivery people were discussed without drama and without filters,” the boy later wrote on Instagram.
“It wasn’t just a meeting. It’s a voice that can no longer be ignored,” he added.
He described his meeting with Raghav Chadha as “unpredictable”. “I never imagined that one viral video would take me this far,” he wrote.
“This is a huge success. This is the biggest success of my life,” the vlogger said in the viral video.
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“Yesterday I had a chance to meet Raghav Chadha ji in person. We had an open discussion about the work of deliverymen, their hard work and the problems they face. The best part is that he never made me feel that he was an MP. He sat and talked like a normal person, ate food together and listened carefully to the real reality.”
This is not just a meeting for delivery people; it’s a big responsibility. Thank you, Raghav Chadho, for listening and understanding the voice of riders,” he wrote later.
Reaction on social networks
“Please keep up the good work sir! You are our hope bringing real issues in parliament…but concrete action is needed now,” wrote one Instagram user for Raghav Chadha.
“Sir seems like a nice, humble gentleman,” wrote another.
Another user commented, “This is such a great job by Raghav Chaddha.”
“Chaddha Ji is a really sensitive person. She realizes the effort behind all the devices we get,” chimed in another.
“He’s a down to earth person,” another user wrote about Chadha.
