Urban Company Sues Women Workers For Protesting Against ‘Unfair Labour Practices’. We’re In Shock!
Ever since the pandemic began, I’ve been too scared to step out to get my beauty services and treatments and services like Urban Company have come to my rescue time and again. With their main clientele being women, such home service providers often have a large number of female workers or ‘partners’ as they are often called, who are the backbone of this operation. But it seems like all is not well with Urban Company and its ‘partners’. The women workers of Urban Company have been protesting against them alleging ‘unfair labour practices’.
Since Monday, the women have been standing outside the home service provider’s office in Gurugram to protest. Earlier in October, the female workers of Urban Company, most of whom are beauticians or hairdressers, went on a strike to protest against low wages and high commissions.
In a really shameful move, Urban Company has sued its women gig workers who were asking for basic rights and consideration. These workers protested overnight after exhausting every other method.
Please #BoycottUrbanCompany + post about it — the very least we can do as consumers pic.twitter.com/bXLZAHpVXJ
— Kelly Cohen (@KellyCo37718841) December 22, 2021
But in a shocking turn of events, Urban Company has sued its own women workers. The company filed a civil suit in the Gurugram District Court on Tuesday, seeking a permanent prohibitory injunction against ‘demonstration, dharna, rally, gherao, peace march, shouting slogans, entering or assembling on or near the office premises’. In its petition, Urban Company has named four protesting women workers and a notice was sent to one of them by the Court to appear in the case on Wednesday.
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Speaking to The Print about the protest, the women workers have shared that they are tired and angry but not dishearted, while adding that the home servicer provider is ‘scared of them’ but they are not scared of Urban Company. The female workers further added that they are willing to fight a lengthy legal battle with Urban Company.
The success of the farmers’ protests has had a monumental impact on the psyche of Urban Company’s women workers. “If the govt can buckle to reasonable demands, so can Urban Company,” some women at the strike told me. pic.twitter.com/DcME14M8Z7
— Soumyarendra Barik (@imsoumyarendra) December 21, 2021
These women workers are currently protesting against a new policy for a ‘minimum guarantee plan’ made by Urban Company. As per this policy, the workers of the home service provider will have to pay a monthly fee which they will have to forfeit if they fail to complete a minimum number of jobs. Under this new company policy, the workers will have to pay Rs. 3,000 per month and complete a minimum of 40 jobs. The women workers are protesting as they want Urban Company to reduce the amount to Rs. 2,000 per month and a minimum of 30 jobs per month to make it more manageable. As per this new policy, the home service provider has also introduced a new category named Flexi which will only assign jobs to workers who have a quick response rate.
Also Read: From Loans To Sex Workers To Providing Sanitary Napkins, The NHRC Has Issued An Advisory On How To Protect Women’s Rights During The Pandemic
The protestors further shared that they met with the founder of the company to discuss their demands but were met with resistance and treated unfairly. The women workers alleged that they were denied access to the office washrooms when they went to meet the co-founder of Urban Company. The female workers have claimed that they have been penalised for not taking up jobs during the COVID-19 induced lockdown. They further added that they have not been refunded the cost of vaccination as promised by the company. The women worker have also claimed that their earnings have reduced drastically. Speaking up about the alleged unfair practice, the workers claimed that Urban Company charges Rs. 349 for hair removal and waxing services out of which the workers only get Rs. 120 whereas any normal salon doesn’t charge less than Rs. 1000 for the same service.
Women workers from @urbancompany_UC have decided to continue their strike till the mangement goes back on the proposed changes to the platform.
There are several pregnant women in the group as well who refuse to leave till their demands are met. pic.twitter.com/4rIXNSQv0E
— AIGWU – All India Gig Workers Union (@aigwu_union) December 21, 2021
A women worker said that Urban Company has told them to stop working with them if they’re unhappy while adding that the home service provider has started hiring new people and sidelined old ones making them feel ‘replaceable’. Speaking further the worker shared that the home service provider calls them ‘partners’ but does not treat them the same. “We’re not their partners. If they considered us partners, they would listen to us and give us more respect,” a woman worker told The Print. The protesters shared that they are unsure if the legal action initiated against them is legitimate or not as they were handed the 135-page petition on the street itself.
The posters and women of the strike against Urban Company pic.twitter.com/FQAoCgZEPq
— Soumyarendra Barik (@imsoumyarendra) December 21, 2021
Well, we’re honestly disappointed with the practice followed by Urban Company and the manner in which they are treating their women workers. An organisation is only as good as its treatment of its employees. Furthermore, peaceful protests are an integral part of our democracy and allow aggrieved parties to have their grievances heard. I don’t see why a case must be filed against employees who just want to be treated with respect and given a better deal at the workplace.
