New Year’s Eve Services at Risk as Gig Workers Announce Countrywide Strike

New Delhi | Thousands of gig workers associated with major delivery and e-commerce platforms have called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday. This could could significantly disrupt New Year’s Eve celebrations across India.

The strike has been jointly announced by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT). Several regional unions operating in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu have also extended their support.

As a result, customers in major cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata may face long wait times, order cancellations and limited delivery availability throughout the day. Several Tier-2 cities are also expected to be affected as local worker collectives have joined the protest.

Union representatives clarified that the strike is not intended to cause inconvenience to customers but to urgently draw attention to long-standing issues faced by gig workers. They have called on platform companies to engage in dialogue and introduce fair pay structures, social security benefits and transparent policies.

According to union leaders, the protest reflects growing dissatisfaction among gig workers over declining earnings, increasing workload and the absence of basic labour protections. Workers allege that while they are often described as “partners” and the backbone of India’s digital commerce ecosystem, they continue to face unfair treatment.
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Delivery partners working with platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart have announced plans to log out of their apps or significantly reduce work during the strike. This has raised concerns about service disruptions on one of the busiest commercial days of the year.

December 31 is traditionally among the highest-demand days for food delivery, quick commerce and online shopping due to New Year celebrations and year-end sales. Industry experts have warned that large-scale participation in the strike could severely impact last-mile delivery operations, affecting restaurants, grocery platforms and retailers that heavily rely on app-based logistics to meet revenue targets.

Unions further claim that delivery partners are being pushed to work longer hours while per-order payments continue to decline. Workers have also raised concerns over inadequate insurance coverage, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary penalties and a lack of job security. Despite their central role in the platform economy, gig workers argue that their grievances remain largely unaddressed.

IANS
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