Gig workers' strike threatens new year's eve deliveries across India

New Delhi: New Year's Eve celebrations across India face major disruptions as thousands of gig workers associated with leading delivery and e-commerce platforms prepare for a nationwide strike on Wednesday. Delivery partners from companies including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart have announced plans to log off their apps or significantly reduce work, raising concerns over delays and cancellations on one of the year's busiest commercial days.

The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) have jointly called the strike, with support from multiple regional collectives across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Union leaders expect between 100,000 and 150,000 delivery workers to participate through flash strikes conducted during peak lunch, dinner and grocery ordering hours.

Delivery partners cite declining per-order payouts, with many earning as little as ₹5-6 per kilometre, alongside increasing workloads and longer hours. Workers have raised concerns about the absence of insurance coverage, unsafe working conditions imposed by ultra-fast delivery models, arbitrary penalties imposed by algorithms, and sudden account deactivations without proper explanation. Despite being described by companies as "partners" and the backbone of India's digital commerce ecosystem, gig workers say they are treated as disposable labour without basic social security or job protection.

Customers in major urban centres such as Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata are expected to experience extended wait times, order cancellations and limited delivery availability throughout the day. Several tier-2 cities are also likely to be affected as regional collectives join the protest. December 31 traditionally represents one of the highest-demand days for food delivery, quick commerce and online shopping, driven by New Year celebrations and year-end sales.

Workers are demanding transparent and fair pay structures, withdrawal of 10-minute delivery models citing safety concerns, an end to account blocking without due process, improved safety gear and accident insurance, and assured work allocation without algorithmic discrimination. IFAT has formally written to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya seeking urgent government intervention to regulate platform companies and ensure accountability. Union leaders have stated the protest aims to draw urgent attention to systemic issues rather than inconvenience customers, calling on platform companies to engage in dialogue and implement fairer policies.

(Inputs from IANS)