Instacart, an American retail company that specializes in grocery delivery and pick-up services, has announced to pay USD 25 to around half a million gig employees if they take the time off to get COVID-19 vaccination.
The company, which has been pushing several government agencies to acquire early access to the COVID-19 vaccine for its delivery workers, claimed that eligible part-time employees including contractors and in-store shippers will also be paid starting February 1st, 2021.
For those unfamiliar, a gig worker is an independent contractor who enters into a formal agreement with a company to offering its services to its respective clients. However, Instacart is not mandating its staff to get vaccinated.
Instacart’s gig employees are not given health insurance, although they receive limited sick pay, cited sources close to the company. The retail firm’s gig economy-based workforce has grown by 150% since 2020 amidst widespread adoption of online shopping platforms during a health crisis.
Moreover, Instacart had selected Goldman Sachs to lead arrangements for its initial public offering (IPO) and is likely to be conducted this year. Sources confirmed that the apparent IPO is also slated to be around USD 30 billion.
Dollar General Corporation, an American chain of variety stores, had also announced to pay frontline staff four hours’ worth of pay after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Walmart Inc. has also signed agreements with U.S. states for vaccine administration among its employees should they opt to receive it once eligible sources claimed.
As per the guidelines deployed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first round of COVID-19 vaccines will be provided to healthcare workers and nursing home residents, while essential workers and people over 75 years of age are scheduled to receive the dose at a later stage.
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