New Delhi: New Year’s Eve is the biggest night for parties, food, and dessert orders and fast last-minute deliveries of groceries. And this is the night of the big gig worker strike at Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, and Flipkart in India. Along with the current commission-based payment system, the workers are demanding a minimum salary of Rs 40,000 per month, paid leaves, and basic facilities at the workplace.
The protest will affect food delivery services, quick commerce, and e-commerce services on one of the busiest days of the year.
Many YouTubers and content creators have urged people to boycott these apps for one day to support gig workers.
“Everyone knows the extreme conditions in which they work, and the algorithm decides their pay. They are under pressure to deliver in 10 minutes, and the algorithm randomly goes up and down,” said YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in an X post.
He highlighted that gig workers are overworked and underpaid. “I request all of you to boycott all these apps on 31 December and not order anything so that we can put pressure on these apps and give gig workers their rights,” Rathee added.
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Threats, penalties from companies
The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers. The unions also have support from regional worker groups in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal, and parts of Tamil Nadu.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union posted its letter to Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya on X, flagging issues such as unsafe working conditions, low pay, ID blocking of workers, and the need for social security and dignity at work.
The @Connect_IFAT has written to Hon’ble Labour Minister Shri @mansukhmandviya ji seeking urgent intervention to stop exploitation of gig and platform delivery workers.
40,000+ workers joined a national strike on 25 Dec over falling incomes, unsafe 10-minute deliveries, (1/2) pic.twitter.com/L989hNFXmG
— Indian Federation Of App Based Transport Workers (@Connect_IFAT) December 29, 2025
The letter stated that it represents 40,000 gig workers in India and that they had held a nationwide strike on 25 December as well, which affected 50-60 per cent of services in many cities.
“Today’s nationwide flash strike has exposed the reality of India’s gig economy. When delivery workers raise their voices, platform companies respond with ID blocking, threats, and algorithmic punishment. This is nothing but modern-day exploitation,” read an X post by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union on 25 December.
Content creators are sharing videos showing the extreme conditions in which gig workers are forced to deliver orders, urging people to support them in the strike. In one of the posts, comedian Kunal Kamra shared a video which showed a food delivery worker getting drenched in rain at a red light.
“No delivery tomorrow for dignity from the day after,” read the text in the video.
A few days ago, a Zomato food delivery person shared a video saying he had to walk around 1 km to deliver food and that the customer did not even speak to him properly.
“A Zomato delivery partner had to walk nearly 0.8-1 km to deliver food to a villa, and this is how he was treated. The dignity of labour is clearly missing,” wrote one user on X.
According to the letter, platform companies did not talk to the workers after the 25 December protest, instead threatening them with account deactivation and penalties. The unions have also accused platforms of using third-party agencies to weaken the strike.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)