"Captain" Suresh and the Union Ship

This comic is based on a study conducted in 2020-21 by the Centre for Labour Studies, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, among delivery agents working for digital food-delivery platforms. The study was supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. This 12-page document, which was published in December 2023, has been prepared by Anu Biswas and designed by Bhagwati Prasad. 

The comic takes readers through a day in the life of Suresh, who works as a food delivery agent in Kengeri, Bangalore. It highlights the biased ways in which apps work, designed by platform companies to extract maximum labour and provide minimum remuneration to workers. The app which assigns food deliveries to Suresh flashes with messages like "Our algorithm is completely impartial. We love our captains" and "Just take advantage of your flexible hours" but penalizes refusal to take up additional work beyond the grueling 12-hour workday. This exploitation is innate to the way algorithms are manufactured, despite the apparent egalitarian use of terms like 'Captain' to refer to workers. Through the character of Suresh, the comic provides insights on gig workers and their trials systemically imposed. It highlights the physical and mental strains involved in work where each food delivery is to be completed within a stipulated span of time and additional expenses like fuel are to be borne individually, revealing the specific impact of insecure working conditions. The comic ends with Suresh eager to join the Food Delivery Workers' Union and collectivize for his right to dignified livelihood. 

Focus and Factoids by Dipanjali Singh.