Workers' union launches campaign demanding inclusion, lower-priced shares as Urban Company prepares for IPO
The Gig and Platform Service Workers' Union (GIPSWU), the first women-led platform-based gig workers union in India, has launched a 'Worker Ka IPO' campaign, aiming to mobilise investors, consumers, and workers around Urban Company's upcoming IPO launch. The campaign, which demands 'a more sustainable and less precarious model for UC's growth as a public company,' calls for the inclusion of UC workers in decision-making processes through a Joint Management Council with elected worker representatives.
The union has sent an open letter to the company's prospective investors with two key demands - representation and participation in management decisions around working conditions and customer relations, and right to be informed about the company's evaluation and to buy UC's stocks at a discounted price in the future.
'Our requests to you are to involve us workers ('partners') in the decision making around company growth, and to share the company's valuation with us through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan,' reads the letter, which has been signed by around 60 gig workers till date.
Demand for inclusion
It was in April that the home services marketplace filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for a ₹1,900 crore IPO. Close on the heels of this, GIPSWU is producing a video series to inform the platform-based gig workers about the technicalities of the IPO and what it holds in stock for them.
Manju Goel, secretary at GIPSWU HQ, New Delhi, notes that the workers wanted the same thing as investors and customers, which is for the company 'to continue as an employer, platform, and business.'
'Every other customer I service complains about the price going up, and workers are facing so much mental pressure and health issues from the way the company is functioning. We know what is important to keep the customers satisfied and keep the workers from leaving – so we should be included in decisions' says Selvi, GIPSWU Southern Region Vice President.
Dolly Devi, GIPSWU Western Region Vice President, adds to it noting that there is no company without the workers.
'If they want to get rich from our labour, then we should be included in that. We invest our time and care into this work, so we should also be investors in the company' she says.
Seeking customer support
In tandem with the open letter to the investors, GIPSWU will also be organizing a 'DryJune' campaign asking customers to boycott Urban Company in the month of June to show their support.
'Customers can help create pressure on Urban Company to do better by its workers at this crucial pre-IPO launch time,' said a statement issued by GIPSWU.
It further noted that gig workers have a stake in the success of the company and are crucial to its long-term growth and well-being,' said a statement.
'Urban Company's growth has come from exploiting gig workers through unattainable standards, low wages, sporadic bookings, sudden ID blocks, and a lack of safety mechanisms, in an environment that does not offer better job options. It does not have to be this way. Including gig workers in decision-making processes could help the company avoid labour exploitation and achieve sustainable growth by better matching business needs with capabilities on the ground,' it read.
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