Eternal, Swiggy see no negative impact of new labour codes on business in long run

Zomato’s parent firm, Eternal, and Swiggy said that implementing the new labour codes will have no negative impact on their businesses and financial performance in the long term.

“We don’t think any financial impact on account of these rules will be detrimental to the long-term health and sustainability of our business,” Eternal said in a stock exchange filing.

Similarly, Swiggy said in an exchange filing, "Based on available information, we do not anticipate any material impact of CoSS on our business sustainability, cost structure, or long-term financial performance."


Under the Code on Social Security (2020) announced by the government on Friday, online aggregators and marketplaces that avail services of gig workers for deliveries, warehouse management, and other purposes will now have to set aside 1-2% of their annual turnover towards a gig worker welfare fund.

Both companies said in their respective releases that the detailed financial and operational outcomes of the new codes will become clear once the rules are notified.

According to the government’s press release, aggregators need to contribute “1-2% of the annual turnover, capped at 5% of the amount paid/payable to gig and platform workers.”

This will impact companies such as food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy, quick commerce apps like Blinkit and Zepto, on-demand service companies like Urban Company and Snabbit, ride-hailing apps like Uber and Rapido, and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon India and Flipkart.

“A unified, nationwide framework brings much-needed uniformity for gig workers, and at the same time improves ease of doing business for platforms and is a step in the right direction,” Eternal said in the filing.

The government on Friday announced four labour codes, replacing the existing 29 labour codes. The new labour codes are: the Code on Wages (2019), the Industrial Relations Code (2020), the Code on Social Security (2020), and the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code (2020).

Gig work, platform work, and aggregators have been defined for the first time under the Code on Social Security (2020).