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As India prepares to welcome the New Year, celebrations may face disruption due to a nationwide strike by gig workers on Wednesday.
Delivery partners associated with major e-commerce and food delivery platforms, including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart, have announced plans to either go offline or significantly reduce their services.
The move raises concerns over delayed deliveries, cancellations, and service interruptions on one of the busiest commercial days of the year.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from regional collectives in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal, and parts of Tamil Nadu, are jointly organising the protest.
Union leaders cite declining earnings, growing workloads, and the lack of basic labour protections as key reasons for the action.
December 31 is traditionally a peak day for food delivery, quick commerce, and online shopping due to New Year’s celebrations and year-end sales.
Analysts warn that widespread participation in the strike could severely disrupt last-mile delivery operations, affecting restaurants, grocery platforms, and retailers that rely on app-based logistics to meet revenue targets.
Falling Pay and Rising Workload Among Key Grievances
According to unions, companies are compelling gig workers to work longer hours while per-order payouts continue to decline.
Workers have also raised concerns about the absence of insurance coverage, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary algorithmic penalties, and a lack of job security.
Despite being described as ‘partners’ by companies, many workers feel treated as expendable labour.
Residents in major urban centres such as Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Kolkata can expect delivery delays, limited services, and order cancellations.
Several tier-2 cities are likely to experience similar disruptions as regional collectives join the strike.
Unions stress that gig workers are striking not to inconvenience customers but to highlight systemic issues in their work.
They are urging platform companies to initiate meaningful dialogue, implement fairer pay structures, provide social security benefits, and adopt transparent policies to safeguard workers’ rights.
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