No Swiggy, Zomato on New Year’s Eve: Gig delivery workers to go on strike, know key demands
PTC News Desk: Online food orders, grocery deliveries and last-minute shopping on New Year’s Eve could be disrupted across India as gig and delivery workers plan a nationwide strike on December 31.
One of the busiest days of the year for app-based platforms, December 31 may see significant impact on food delivery, quick commerce and e-commerce services in multiple cities. Workers linked to platforms including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart are expected to participate. Unions warn that the strike could hurt retailers and companies that rely heavily on last-mile delivery to meet year-end sales targets.
The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from regional unions in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu. According to the unions, delivery workers are being compelled to work longer hours despite declining earnings.
They allege that workers are subjected to unsafe delivery targets, poor job security, lack of dignity at work and minimal access to social protection. In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, IFAT said it represents nearly 4,00,000 app-based transport and delivery workers nationwide.
The federation noted that a nationwide flash strike on December 25 had already disrupted services by 50–60% in several cities. That protest, it said, was meant to highlight unsafe delivery models, falling incomes, arbitrary account deactivations and the absence of social security.
IFAT further alleged that platform companies failed to engage with workers after the December 25 strike and instead resorted to threats, ID deactivations, algorithm-driven penalties and the use of third-party agencies to undermine the protest.
With the December 31 strike, customers may face delays or cancellations as delivery executives log off apps or significantly reduce their work. Major cities such as Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata, along with several tier-2 markets, are expected to be affected.
In its letter, IFAT urged the government to bring platform companies under labour regulations, ban unsafe delivery practices such as extreme fast-delivery timelines, stop arbitrary ID blocking and ensure transparent wage systems. It also demanded social security benefits including health insurance, accident cover and pensions, along with protection of workers’ right to unionise and bargain collectively.
The federation has called for immediate government intervention and sought tripartite talks involving the government, platform companies and worker unions. The letter is signed by IFAT co-founder and National General Secretary Shaikh Salauddin and Inayath Ali, founder of the Karnataka App-Based Workers Union and National Vice-President of IFAT, with copies marked to senior officials in the Labour Ministry.
- With inputs from agencies
