Online food orders, grocery deliveries and last-minute shopping on New Year’s Eve may be affected across India as gig and delivery workers are planning a nationwide strike on December 31.
New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest days for app-based platforms, and the strike could disrupt services in several cities. Workers linked to companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart are expected to take part. Unions have warned that the protest may impact retailers and platforms that depend heavily on delivery partners to meet year-end demand.
The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, with support from worker groups in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.
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Why gig workers are protesting
As per reports, Unions say delivery workers are being forced to work longer hours while their earnings continue to fall. They claim workers face unsafe delivery targets, weak job security, lack of dignity at work and little to no access to social security benefits.
In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers said it represents around 4,00,000 app-based transport and delivery workers across India. The federation said workers had already held a nationwide flash strike on December 25, which led to a 50–60% disruption in services in several cities.
According to the union, the earlier protest was meant to highlight unsafe delivery models, falling incomes, arbitrary ID blocking and the absence of social security. The federation also claimed that platform companies did not hold talks with workers after the December 25 strike and instead responded with threats, account deactivations and algorithm-based penalties. It further alleged that third-party agencies were used to weaken the protest.
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With the December 31 strike, customers may see delays or cancellations as many delivery executives log out of apps or reduce their work hours. Disruptions are expected in major cities including Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata, as well as in several tier-2 cities.
The federation has asked the government to regulate platform companies under labour laws and ban unsafe delivery models, including extreme fast-delivery timelines. It has also demanded an end to arbitrary ID blocking, fair wage systems, social security benefits like health cover, accident insurance and pensions, and protection of workers’ right to organise and bargain collectively.
The unions have sought immediate government intervention and called for talks involving the government, platform companies and worker representatives. The letter is signed by Shaikh Salauddin, Co-founder and National General Secretary of IFAT, and Inayath Ali, Founder of the Karnataka App-Based Workers Union and National Vice-President of the federation.
