Urban Company’s AC technicians in Pune stage protest demanding better pay, policy reforms

Privacy concerns and customer dissatisfaction

Arsad Sheikh, 30, told The Indian Express that recording videos while repairing AC units has already led to confrontations with customers, who see it as an invasion of privacy. This, in turn, results in poor feedback on technicians’ profiles.

“The increase in the number of required videos will only lead to more objections from customers. We are ready to submit the necessary videos for repair work, but the excessive number wastes time and creates friction with clients,” he said.

“They often ask, did you come here to work or to take photos and videos of our home?” Sheikh added.

Sheikh, who has been working with Urban Company for 10 years, also raised concerns about declining wages amid rising inflation. “The per-unit wage for AC repairs, which was Rs 750 last year, has now dropped to Rs 499. On top of that, 30 to 40 per cent of our earnings go to the company as commission,” he said.

Other issues

Among other key issues raised by workers include order cancellations leading to ID blocking. Technicians claimed that if a customer cancels an order, their ID is often blocked without consideration.

Sheikh shared an incident involving his colleague, who lost a relative on February 25 and requested clients to reschedule their repair appointments. “The clients agreed but the company marked it as a cancellation and blocked his ID, despite him submitting the required death certificate,” he said.

A worker, speaking anonymously, shared an audio recording with The Indian Express, describing a clash with a customer over video recording during repairs, which ultimately led to complaints and negatively impacted his profile.

They also talked about the mandatory purchase of a Co-Pilot device. They said Urban Company now requires workers to buy a Rs 3,000 testing device for gas and current checks, even though they previously used simpler tools like multimeters.

“The new device takes 15 to 20 minutes for testing during AC repairs, which again affects the technicians’ ratings,” said the worker cited above.

Skilled technicians vs untrained hires

Keshav Kshirsagar of the Indian Gig Workers’ Front (IGWF), which supported the protest, said Urban Company hires untrained workers and places them as skilled ITI-certified technicians. “When unskilled workers make mistakes, the blame falls on the technicians, leading to penalties or negative ratings,” he said.

Kshirsagar said they have submitted the request letter to the company and the police and claim that if no action is taken by March 3, they will stage another strike.

The Indian Express reached out to Urban Company, but has not yet received a response.