Food delivery platform Swiggy has responded to the controversy over a customer’s alleged demand to not be assigned a Muslim delivery worker. Calling itself ‘an equal opportunity platform’, Swiggy’s support handle on Twitter said such requests are not considered as the assignment of delivery workers is fully automated. The response came after Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted about the discriminatory demand and asked Swiggy to blacklist the customer, make their name public and file a police complaint over the incident. Swiggy also said that the company has been trying to validate the authenticity and recency of the screenshot to get more information since the incident was first reported.
Earlier on August 30, Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation Of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT), tweeted a screenshot of a direction from a Swiggy customer in Hyderabad saying, “Don’t want a Muslim delivery person.” The screenshot of the prejudiced instruction went viral on social media and triggered outrage, with demands that Swiggy should blacklist bigoted customers. Salauddin had tweeted the screenshot and written, “Dear Swiggy please take a stand against such a bigoted request. We (Delivery workers) are here to deliver food to one and all, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh. Mazhab Nahi Sikhata Aapas Mein Bair Rakhna (Religion doesn’t preach hate between groups).”
Responding to Salauddin’s tweet, Mahua on Friday said, “Sickening to see normalisation of hatred & bigotry - what would earlier be hidden personal prejudices now become proud public proclamations of majoritarianism. @Swiggy pls blacklist customer, make name public & also file police complaint. This is blatantly illegal (sic).” Swiggy’s support handle responded to Mahua’s tweet and wrote, “Hey Mohua, as an equal opportunity platform, there is no place for discrimination in Swiggy's delivery universe. The assignment of orders is entirely automated and does not take any such requests into consideration. We've been attempting to validate the authenticity and recency of the screenshot to get more information since the incident was first reported a few days ago.”
Hey Mohua, as an equal opportunity platform, there is no place for discrimination in Swiggy's delivery universe. The assignment of orders is entirely automated and does not take any such requests into consideration. We've been attempting (cont) https://t.co/ygHtzCoXAq
— Swiggy Cares (@SwiggyCares) September 1, 2022
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram had also supported Saluddin's demand. "Platform companies cannot sit back and watch as gig workers face such blatant bigotry in the name of religion. What action will such companies take to safeguard the rights of gig workers?" he asked.
Platform companies cannot sit back and watch as gig workers face such blatant bigotry in the name of religion. What action will such companies take to safeguard the rights of gig workers? @Swiggy @TGPWU @Connect_IFAT
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) August 31, 2022
This is not the first time that such a bias has been reported by a customer towards delivery workers on food delivery apps. In June, a man in Madhya Pradesh said he cancelled an order from Zomato because his request to switch to a non-Hindu delivery worker was not accepted. The customer with the username Pandit Amit Shukla had tweeted, “Just canceled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non Hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel (sic)." Zomato had responded, saying: "Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion."
With IANS inputs