The unions are seeking job security, higher pay, safer working environment and access to social security benefits
Targeting major platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Amazon and Flipkart, gig economy delivery workers across the country have called for a nationwide strike on 31 December 2025. The workers were on strike on Christmas Day as well.
Organised by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), the strike affects the operations in metro cities and non-metros as well. The workers are demanding changes to compensation structure and fair working conditions.
One such demand includes the call for proper platform management practices, as the workers are protesting against the arbitrary blocking of IDs without prior notices. Workers are demanding the establishment of transparent pay structures that takes into consideration the actual distance travelled and time spent on tasks, as per the reports.
Reports noted that the unions are seeking job security, higher pay, safer working environment and access to social security benefits. The strike impacted the regions such as Gurugram, Delhi, Patna, Bengaluru and Hyderabad on a major basis during the lunch hours, as per the reports.
Shedding light on the ‘pain and misery’ of India’s gig workers, Raghav Chadha, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member, has also demanded regulations on quick commerce and app-based delivery and service businesses, in favour of gig workers.
While speaking in Parliament earlier, the MP pointed out that although the official definition refers to them as gig workers, he calls them the invisible wheels of the Indian economy. He noted that these workers deserve dignity, protection and fair pay.
“I am speaking about the delivery boys of Swiggy and Zomato, drivers of Ola and Uber, riders of Blinkit and Zepto, plumbers and beauticians of Urban Company. Today, many ecommerce, Insta-delivery apps and companies have upped their valuations and become unicorns, but the conditions of these gig workers are worse off than daily wage labourers,” he added.
On account of high commissions and poor customer service, over one in every three restaurants listed on food delivery platforms are planning to stop using the service, according to a report by economic policy think tank NCAER and investment firm Prosus.
The report revealed that the these platform restaurants also noted that the food delivery platforms are not giving enough profits, orders and customers. Atleast 30 per cent of platform restaurants wanted lower commissions. The average ‘per order’ commission has increased from 9.6 per cent in 2019 to 24.6 per cent in 2023.
“The evidence on restaurants’ negotiating power over commissions and understanding of the structure of the commissions is mixed. However, ‘medium & large’ restaurants had relatively greater negotiating power. 30 per cent of platform restaurants requested a reduction in per order commissions,” the report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Prosus noted.
