Swiggy-Zomato-Blinkit Deliveries May Be Affected on New Year's Eve; Gig Workers Announce Nationwide Strike

On Wednesday, thousands of gig workers associated with major delivery and e-commerce platforms have called for a nationwide strike. This is likely to directly impact food delivery, quick commerce, and online shopping services, especially on a peak business day like December 31.

The strike has been called under the leadership of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT). These organizations have received support from several regional unions active in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, parts of West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.

The unions say this protest is a collective voice against long-standing issues.The impact of the strike will not be limited to metropolitan cities alone. In major cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, customers may face problems such as long waiting times, order cancellations, and limited delivery slots.

Union leaders have clarified that the strike is not intended to inconvenience customers. They say the aim is to draw the attention of platform companies to the basic problems faced by gig workers. The unions have demanded that companies initiate talks, implement a fair pay structure, provide social security benefits, and enforce transparent policies.

According to the unions, gig workers' earnings have been continuously declining while the workload is increasing. Delivery partners allege that they are being forced to work longer hours, but payments per order are being cut. Additionally, issues such as lack of insurance coverage, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary penalties, and absence of job security are major causes of concern.

Industry experts believe that if there is large-scale participation in the strike, its impact will not be limited to customers alone. Restaurants, grocery platforms, and retailers—who rely heavily on app-based logistics to meet their revenue targets ahead of the New Year—will also be affected.

Gig workers say that although companies call them 'partners' and describe them as the backbone of India's digital commerce system, the ground reality is different. They allege that they receive neither stable income nor the security that is essential for any working person.

This strike announced on New Year's Eve not only highlights the challenges of the gig economy but also shows that workers powering the rapidly growing digital services are now organizing and raising their voices for their rights and dignity.