New Delhi "Please don't report about food delivery boys reaching your home late," requests Kamla Devi to anyone who cares to listen.
Her son Anuj is admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) with head injuries and a fractured hand.
Anuj, a delivery boy working with a fast food chain, was headed towards South Extension to deliver a pizza when his motorbike skidded due to rash driving. He had recently left his studies mid-way to take up this job after his father's sudden death.
He tells Gulf News: "A few days ago, due to bad weather, I missed reaching for deliveries in the prescribed time limit. The management threatened to cut my salary if it happened again and I had no choice but to rush to deliver the food in time."
Promise of discounts
City hospitals have been reporting high number of accident cases involving food delivery staff. The promise of discounts for not delivering food on time makes consumers happy. Some occasionally even refuse to pay if the meal is not delivered within a stipulated time.
The effect of this is borne by delivery boys who commute by two-wheelers. Racing against time, they put their lives at risk and often meet with accidents.
The ‘30-minute or free' fad offered by a number of pizza joints raises occupational hazards. And they sometimes prove fatal.
Dr Rajesh Kumar, an orthopaedic surgeon, at a city hospital said, "We have found that food delivery boys constitute a good number of road accident victims. Commuting by two-wheelers, they speed up to adhere to the delivery deadlines, becoming vulnerable to accidents."
Though Dr Kumar said the hospitals did not have separate data on this segment, he said it was easy to recognise delivery boys by their uniforms. "We get around 4-5 cases every month involving delivery boys, who suffer from multiple fractures to head injuries," he added.
Earning between Rs5,000 (Dh357) to Rs7,000 per month, the boys say they have no choice but to rush to meet deadlines.
‘Too many orders'
Gaurav Gupta, who had joined a food outlet in east Delhi a week ago, said: "My colleagues informed that deductions had been made from their salaries in the past whenever people complained.
"Sometimes there are too many orders and we cannot afford to be slow. I have already been warned twice by my employers that if I delay another order, they will cut my salary."
While the staff at a Pizza Hut outlet said they were not authorised to speak, an official at Domino's Pizza said, "Our delivery bikes have pre-fitted speed governors and a person cannot go beyond 40 kilometre per hour."
Admitting that they kept up with the '30 minutes or free delivery guarantee', the official said, "The delivery boys are not at all under pressure to rush. The areas where the deliveries are to be made are in the radius of just a few kilometres and the boys have enough time. We are strict, but salaries are never deducted."
However, Puneet, a delivery boy, said, "After two warnings for late delivery, my salary was cut the third time. They cut the cost of a pizza, which was delivered just two minutes late.
"A couple of months ago, I fractured my leg, but I was not allowed to take more than two days' leave. And despite the fact that I was on duty at the time of getting injured, no compensation was provided," he said.
Chief of the Trauma Centre, AIIMS, M.C. Misra said it was unfortunate that youngsters were made to risk their lives to ensure that some people got their meal on time.
‘Too late'
"It is not right for food chains to advertise home delivery schemes with the condition of time-bound delivery. I have come across cases where boys have admitted to driving continuously for 11 to 12 hours a shift," the chief said.
Misra mentioned the case of a 25-year-old boy who was rushing for the last delivery of the day. "He was hit by a car and by the time he was brought to the hospital, it was already too late."
The chief had a piece of advice for those ordering food: "Please have patience after ordering food. To avoid being penalised, the delivery boy may never reach his home where people are dependant on him."
- City hospitals say they get at least 4-5 accident cases every month involving delivery boys.
- Among these, head and limb injuries are common.
- The delivery boys often have to drive 10 to 12 hours daily, rushing to and from the outlet within the stipulated time.
- Many suffer salary deductions for not being on time.
