NEW DELHI, April 14 (Reuters) – Around 50 shops of Indian meals supply firm Zomato’s (ZOMT.NS) grocery unit Blinkit are shut as bike riders have stopped work within the newest protest to hit India’s gig economic system as workers push calls for for higher wages.

Zomato in an e mail mentioned it had launched a brand new construction for riders that compensates them based mostly on their effort and was participating with them to reopen the shut shops.

To make the most of the development for “quick commerce” that delivers items inside minutes to these in pressing want of provides or simply impulse procuring, Zomato final yr purchased Blinkit for $550 million.

Blinkit has round 400 shops in India, of which 50 have been shut, largely in and round New Delhi, on Friday, a supply with direct information mentioned.

Videos on social media confirmed a whole bunch of Blinkit bike riders protesting and elevating slogans in opposition to the introduction of a fee construction they are saying will cut back their per-order earnings. The Blinkit app on Friday confirmed a number of of its shops have been “temporarily unavailable” in New Delhi.

“We are concerned because of this. No deliveries are happening,” Blinkit rider Ajay Kumar mentioned.

At one Blinkit retailer within the Noida area close to New Delhi, a safety workers officer informed Reuters no supply riders had picked up orders since April 11 and the shop was shut.

Blinkit competes with different massive supply corporations, together with prime retailer Reliance-backed Dunzo, Tata’s BigBasket and SoftBank-backed Swiggy in India’s fast-growing grocery market.

Zomato’s different meals supply companies continued usually.

Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi and Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Barbara Lewis

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