Raghav Chadha (ANI image)
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday defended gig workers who recently went on strike, accusing delivery platforms of politicising demands for fair pay and dignity. He said the pressure on gig workers was so extreme that they were being treated like “hostages with helmets” instead of employees with basic rights.The party leader also criticised platform companies for portraying labour demands as a law-and-order issue. Chaddha said that his earlier intervention in Parliament had helped bring national attention to the concerns of delivery partners and other app-based workers.Highlighting the treatment of striking workers, Chadha in a post on X said, “Workers asking for fair pay are not criminals. And if your system needs police to keep running on its biggest day, that is not proof the system works. That is an admission it doesn’t. If you needed police to have your workers stay on the road, they’re not employees. They’re hostages with helmets. I am glad my intervention in Parliament has started a nationwide debate.”The AAP leader stressed that he supports business and startups, but opposes exploitative practices. “I am pro-industry, not pro-exploitation. Success cannot be built by squeezing the last ounce out of the people doing the hardest work,” he wrote. Chaddha argued that portraying demands for fair pay as political was a way to deflect attention from real worker grievances.He explained that gig workers continuing to log in should not be seen as approval of unfair conditions. “When one day’s income decides rent, electricity, or a child’s school fee, logging in on a strike day is not approval, it is survival. It is desperation. People remain trapped when better options do not exist,” AAP MP wrote. Chadha also raised safety concerns linked to app-driven incentives. He criticised the platforms’ algorithmic management of pay and penalties. “That is not flexibility. That is control without accountability,” he wrote highlighting risks to both delivery workers and the general public.Addressing coordinated criticism from platform companies and influencers, Chadha said, “Do not waste time debating my lifestyle. Focus on improving the lifestyle of gig workers,” questioning the transparency of the algorithms that determine worker earnings.The MP’s statements come amid a nationwide strike called by gig worker unions demanding the removal of 10-minute delivery models, restoration of earlier payout structures and improved social security. Chadha had earlier raised these issues in the Rajya Sabha during winter session, highlighting low pay, long hours and lack of protections for workers across food delivery, ride-hailing and grocery delivery platforms.