Wage Cuts, Dismal Living Conditions — Zepto's Rural Hiring Drive Shows Cracks

Lured by the Zepto's Rural Mobilization Program and the promise of urban opportunity, labourers from across states are arriving in metro cities, only to allegedly find a portion of their earnings being unfairly cut by recruitment agencies affiliated with Zepto, while facing substandard living conditions.

The Rajdhani App Workers Union, affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions, has alleged that one of the recruiting agencies is Kilton Geo Engineering, which had been actively getting people, predominantly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, to register with them.

It is promising jobs under Zepto's Rural Mobilization Program with a pay of Rs 30,000–40,000 per month in Delhi, and also promising free food and accommodation, according to a release by the union.

The gig workers are initiated to deliver orders for Zepto, but are not given official company IDs, rather function on temporary unrecognised IDs. Although they are lured in with a promise of good compensation, they are only able to make Rs 3,000–3,500 a week, the union alleged.

Out of weekly payouts, the recruitment agencies take their cuts, which is unregulated and varies every week, and ranges from Rs 800–1,000. This is despite them getting a joining bonus from Zepto for getting the workers, the union notes.

"In order to get workers interested, the recruitment agencies collaborate with YouTube channels, which post about job availability," Sunand, president of the Rajdhani App Workers explains. "The agency recruiters make tall promises in the video of high-income potential, only for labourers to move away from their home and suffer in bad conditions and bad pay in Delhi."

In addition to taking a cut from gig workers wages, the facilities provided by recruitment agencies are substandard.

"First-off payment is delayed, then these guys take a cut as they like, even if the living conditions are bad," one of the workers from Uttar Pradesh said. "Ten people are stuffed in one small room and bad food is given."

He and his friends repent moving to Delhi in the hope of good opportunity and landing up in trouble, with survival getting difficult, the gig worker said.

While the labour union does not have a definite number of workers that have been recruited by the agencies, it is aware that this activity had been happening for three–four months, and over 50–70 workers have moved to Delhi for the gig.

Zepto's Rural Mobilization Project is aimed at providing job opportunities for residents of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in Tier 1 cities where Zepto operates. After the launch of the programme, Zepto has been looking for partners to help with arranging amenities and logistical support to get workers to Tier 1 cities.

Commenting on the development, a Zepto spokesperson said the company was aware of the recent allegations related to the RMP and are taking them "very seriously". As part of the program, Zepto provides the technology and clear guidelines — but day-to-day operations and vendor oversight are handled locally by store management.

"We are currently investigating the specific complaints from Delhi, particularly concerning the vendor Kilton Geo Engineering. We have a strict zero-tolerance policy for malpractice and have launched a full audit. At the same time, we're conducting checks across all RMP locations to ensure every vendor meets our standards," the company said.

Zepto claimed that there were no temporary IDs, joining bonus was not offered, and accommodation and food provided go through quality checks.