Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 31: The New Year Day celebrations is likely to be affected across the country on Wednesday due to possible disruptions in delivery of last-minute party needs, food orders and grocery running through online platforms as gig and delivery workers of the App-based companies went on strike demanding withdrawal of 10-minute delivery schedules and restoration of earlier payout structures and other issues.
With New Year’s Eve being one of the busiest days of the year for online orders, the protest could affect food delivery, quick commerce and e-commerce services in several cities.
A large number of workers associated with platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart joined the strike. Unions said the strike could hurt retailers and platforms that depend heavily on last-mile delivery to meet year-end sales targets.
The call for the strike was given by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from regional worker groups in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.
According to the unions, delivery partners who form the backbone of India’s app-based commerce system are being pushed to work longer hours even as their earnings fall. They allege that workers face unsafe delivery targets, limited job security, lack of dignity at work and almost no access to basic social protection.
The TGPWU founder and president Shaikh Salauddin said the strike was being organised in response to what workers describe as unfair policies followed by platform-based companies. He added that the several concerns raised by workers have remained unaddressed despite repeated appeals.
He said workers have constantly been raising their demands with platform companies, and sought the restoration of an old payout structure. “Earlier, during festivals such as Dussehra, Diwali, and Bakri-Id, fair payments were made. That system must be implemented again regularly,” Mr Salauddin said.
The gig workers’ union has reportedly placed five key demands before platform companies including the return of the earlier payout system, which workers say provided more stable and transparent earnings compared to the current model and withdrawal of the 10-minute delivery system which workers claim forces them to rush, increases stress and puts their safety at risk on the roads.
It also demanded that the system of blocking or deactivating workers’ accounts must be stopped pointing out that IDs were often suspended without clear reasons or proper communication, leaving workers suddenly without income and no way to challenge the decision.
In a letter sent to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, IFAT said it represented around four lakh app-based transport and delivery workers across the country. The federation said workers had already held a nationwide flash strike and demonstrations on December 25, which led to a 50–60% disruption in services in several cities.
The protest, according to the union, was aimed at drawing attention to unsafe delivery models, falling incomes, arbitrary ID blocking and the absence of social security.
The federation also claimed that platform companies did not engage with workers after the December 25 protest. Instead, it alleged that companies responded with threats, account deactivations and algorithm-based penalties. The letter further accused platforms of using third-party agencies to weaken the strike.
With the December 31 strike, customers may face delays and cancellations as delivery executives log off the apps or sharply reduce their workload. The disruptions is likely to hit food orders, grocery deliveries and last-minute shopping in major cities as well as several tier-2 markets.
In its letter, IFAT urged the government to regulate platform companies under labour laws and ban unsafe delivery models, including extreme fast-delivery timelines. It also called for an end to arbitrary ID blocking, fair and transparent wage systems, social security benefits such as health cover, accident insurance and pensions, and protection of workers’ right to organise and bargain collectively.
The federation has sought immediate government intervention and asked for tripartite talks involving the government, platform companies and worker unions. 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. Copies have also been marked to senior officials in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.