Gig Workers Union Fact Checks Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal's Delivery Partner Pay Claim: 'No Paid Leave, Accident Cover'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The gig workers association protesting against Swiggy and Zomato's 10-minute delivery model has lashed out at Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal, who earlier claimed that delivery partners earn around ₹26,000 per month.

In a post on X, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Association claimed that the net earnings drop to ₹81 per hour, translating to a ₹21,000 per month salary.

“Mr @deepigoyal @zomato claims ₹102/hour EPH (2025). But at 10 hrs/day × 26 days, gross ≈ ₹26,500. After fuel and maintenance (~20%), net is ~ ₹21,000/month-for 260 hours of work. That's ~ ₹81/hour net, with no social security, no paid leave, no accident cover,” the union said.

The union also claimed that only around 5% of orders get tipped at the rate of ₹ ₹2.6 per hour.

“This is not decent work,” it added.

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In a post on X on Monday night, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal said that the average earnings per hour (EPH) of the company's delivery workers was ₹102 per hour in 2025, excluding tips.

“Most delivery partners work for a few hours and only a few days in a month. But if someone were to work for 10 hours/day, 26 days/month, this translates to ~ ₹26,500/month in gross earnings,” he said.

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He also acknowledged the fact that after accounting for fuel and maintenance, this comes down to around ₹21,000 a month.

“Earnings per hour are calculated on total hours logged in, including the time when the partner might be waiting to receive an order,” the Zomato CEO, who also owns quick commerce delivery platform Blinkit, said.

He added that earnings per 'busy' hour were even higher but“that's not the right metric to look at.”

Talking about tips, Goyal clarified that delivery partner earn 100% of the tips given by the customer, sharing that in 2025 the average tip was ₹2.6 per hour and in 2024 it was ₹2.4.

“Tips are transferred instantly, with zero deductions. We absorb the payment gateway processing cost ourselves. About 5% of the orders get tipped on Zomato; 2.5% on Blinkit,” he said.

Also Read | 'Paisa nahi milta': Swiggy, Zomato delivery partners on nationwide strike today

Goyal also defended 10-minute deliveries, explaining that they are enabled by the density of stores around a user's home and not by“asking delivery partners to drive fast”.

Many people on the internet has sided with the CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit.

“Earning Rs20000 per month for an average Indian is a big thing. Many people are still working for 12k-15k per month,” one person said.

“How pathetic the people coments here? Don't they feel that it is the responsibility of a government in any functional democracy to ensure the protection of dignity of labour? Does it mean any thing in engraving sramayeva jayate on Ministry of Labour buildings?” another countered.

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