The Carry-Men of India: The Gig Economy’s Newest Symptom

Indian’s love to shop. On any given day, at any given market, you’ll find countless Indians mulling about, browsing, and bargaining for the best price. Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar is just one such place. It is an open hawker market for the most part, meaning shoppers usually have to brave the heat, the often uneven and broken roads, and the countless other shoppers to get their fix. But of course, India, the land of innovation, has found a solution to it. Enter, The Carry-Men; A group of individuals highly qualified to carry your bags, order your food, and navigate the perils of the market for you. Their Instagram advertising exemplifies this, with a slew of AI-generated posts that tout their Carry-Men as the ultimate solution to the arduous task of carrying what you buy. 

Now, dear reader, you may ask, “What is actually wrong with this service?”

Well, nothing really. India is no stranger to services that make life easier. We have all grown accustomed to them, in fact. But, if we flip the perspective for a minute, what about the Carry-Men themselves? Do we really ever stop to think about the people whom we so callously send out to do all the menial work for us? The people who not only carry our bags, but also our economy? 

The Carry-Men currently consists of seven salaried employees, according to the founders. Notably, they are not gig workers, meaning they get paid a fixed amount rather than through algorithmically decided prices. But concerns rise with their announced plan to scale up their business by opening services in Chandni Chowk. Will they keep hiring full-time staff as Carry-Men, or will they too switch to gig work? After all, most of the apps that exist nowadays that depend on gig workers; Zomato, Swiggy, Uber, etc., all started by promising lavish benefits to their workers, but they eventually halted them. Paying your workers fairly just isn’t profitable.

The entire country views its labour force as disposable, and that frees up companies to prioritize profit margins over their workers. In fact, the digital revolution has brought a new sense of apathy on the part of the consumer. When all you have to do is press a button on an app to get what you need, you think less of the machinery that makes it happen. What we don’t see is easy to ignore. What we don’t see is the machinery that consists of cogs being overworked and underpaid, so you can spend a little more time in bed. Of course, there is no fault in aspiring to luxury, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of another individual. 

The gig industry appealed to the workers through their promises of flexible hours, choosing your jobs, and essentially being your own boss. However, the reality is completely different. The gig workers have to work long hours anyway to make any kind of substantial income, and on top of that, they’re beholden to their company’s predatory policies and routines. Urban Company, for example, has been notorious for its punishing schedules; Booking appointments within unrealistic timeframes and punishing their workers for any delays. If the workers are inactive or cancel appointments (which they are allowed to do since they supposedly have flexible schedules), they are then given fewer bookings moving forward, jeopardizing their income.

Another big problem for the gig workers is the rating system, which usually works on a simple principle: if the customers like your service, then they’ll rate you well, and if they do not, they’ll rate you badly. These ratings affect the worker’s future bookings. You know what this means? The customers are free to wield this power over their workers since they face little to no repercussions in cases of misuse. A customer can rate workers arbitrarily, with rarely any questioning or repercussions, but the workers suffer with fewer orders due to their rating.

The lack of proper labor laws surrounding the gig economy also makes it easier for these apps to exploit their workers. Despite the provisions of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which gave them legal recognition for the first time, they rarely, if ever, receive any insurance coverage or fixed bonuses. Their gray legal status also bars them from many of the social security benefits(though that is also a provision of the Code). They are also very vulnerable to the actions of their ‘partner company’, having no protection from arbitrary deactivation of accounts(as BlinkIt workers in Varanasi found out) or the perils of their unpredictable algorithm.

The worst part? The workers aren’t free to leave from this exploitation either. Most gig workers are low-income individuals who turn to these jobs because of promises of high pay and flexible hours, which they do not receive. They are obligated to keep working to provide for their families and for themselves, despite the unsuitable conditions. The lack of union power in India also aids in the exploitation of these individuals. While these apps themselves are incredibly profitable, the ones who ensure that they run are left scrounging for a livable wage.

The Carry-Men aren’t really the problem here, but they are a symptom. To even think of an idea like the Carry-Men, a system already has to be set up where manual labour is available readily and for cheap. The entire gig work industry is propped up on the backs of people with no choice but to work under any given conditions. While the rest of the world looks towards robots and drones to work for them, we increasingly rely on our underpaid labour force to keep our lifestyles afloat. 

Systematic oppression of workers isn’t new; it’s been around since the Industrial Revolution, but it cannot be fought only through the strikes organised by workers and their limited union powers. Customer apathy plays a big role in the continuing exploitation of workers. If we care, then the companies are forced to too. These Carry-Men, who toil daily so we can live with ease, deserve more thanks from us than just a five-star rating.