Key Points
On 24 December 2025, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, along with others, called for an all-India stike by gig platform workers on 25 and 31 December 2025.
The unions represent workers across Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Amazon, Flipkart and Urban Company, and are striking over “unsafe work, low pay and denial of social security.”
The workers are demanding better working conditions, fair wages, a national regulatory framework, social security measures, and an end to arbitrary termination.
On 24 December 2025, gig and platform workers announced an all-India strike on Christmas day and New Year’s Eve, over worsening working conditions, unfair wages, occupational safeguards, and a national policy to regulate the gig economy.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), along with the Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the All-India Gig Workers Union (AIGWU), announced the flash strike a day before Christmas, with 40,000-70,000 workers joining from across tier-1 and tier-2 cities. TGPWU called for a follow-up strike on 31 December 2025.
These unions represent workers across Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Amazon, Flipkart and Urban Company. In a statement, TGPWU said that 25 and 31 December were two of the busiest days for instant delivery platforms, and that the strike was organized for these days to put pressure on the platforms.The strike is aimed against “unsafe work, low pay and denial of social security.”
Unions said the protest is aimed at highlighting what they call the systemic exploitation of last-mile delivery workers, particularly during peak seasons and festivals when demand surges but compensation does not rise proportionately.
Worker organisations have said that despite being central to the platform economy, delivery partners are being subjected to long working hours, unsafe delivery targets, falling per-order earnings and arbitrary penalties. A major concern flagged by workers is the prevalence of “10-minute delivery” or ultra-fast delivery models, which they argue place pressure on workers to meet unrealistic timelines, increasing the risk of road accidents and physical exhaustion.
TGPWU highlighted a case earlier in December 2025, where a Swiggy worker met with an accident while on duty. Suffering serious injuries, medical bills amounted to ₹60,000, which the worker – the sole breadwinner of his family – had to pay through loans. He was also prescribed six months of bed rest. The union stressed the fact that Swiggy had not only failed to provide compensation or safeguards but had refused to respond to the situation at all, despite the driver having worked there for over seven years.
Among the core demands outlined by unions are a fair and transparent wage structure, mandatory rest breaks and reasonable working hours. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Shaik Salauddin, Founder-President of TGPWU and National General Secretary of IFAT, said that one of the goals of the strike was to ensure a minimum wage of ₹35 per delivery as opposed to the current rate of ₹7, 10, or 15.
“We want the government to come out with a Policy for gig and platform workers with a fixed minimum wage,’ he said. While platforms sometimes offer incentives or higher payouts on holidays, unions have said these are inconsistent and do not address the need for stable, predictable incomes.
Workers are also seeking an immediate end to arbitrary ID blocking, which they say often happens without explanation or due process and can abruptly cut off a worker’s only source of income.
In November 2025, a Zomato worker moved Telangana High Court over ‘unjust’ and ‘arbitrary’ blocking of his ID for ‘behavioral issues’. TGPWU pointed out that several such cases occur regularly if workers fail to meet 10-minute deadlines or based on consumer complaints. The union highlighted the lack of any warning, the lack of a redressal mechanism, and a lack of enforcement of workers’ safeguards by state governments. In this case, the court issued a notice to Zomato demanding that the worker’s ID be immediately reinstated.
Improved safety measures, including the provision of safety gear and a worker protection framework, and consistent work allocation without algorithmic discrimination are also among the demands. Workers have raised concerns about app glitches, routing errors and payment failures, saying that technical issues frequently result in loss of earnings without adequate grievance redressal mechanisms.
Unions have also reiterated the need for dignity and respect at work, citing instances of harassment by customers and platforms. They are calling for job security and comprehensive social security coverage, including health insurance, accident compensation and pension benefits.
According to IFAT, tens of thousands of workers have already participated in flash strikes and protests across major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Union leaders estimate that India has nearly one crore platform workers, many of whom depend on app-based work as their primary livelihood.
In Hyderabad, a bike rally involving over 2,000 delivery workers was organised as part of the protest. In Maharashtra, nearly half of all delivery workers in the state participated in the strike. Union representatives said similar demonstrations were held in multiple zones across cities, with workers logging off delivery apps for limited periods as a show of collective action.
Shaik Salauddin said that many workers did not participate in the strike over fear of being blacklisted by their employers. He further clarified that the call given was for a flash strike, which means “workers in a particular zone announcing they are on strike for an hour or two and not carrying out any deliveries during the period.” He said that this was the biggest strike the unions had organised till date and hoped the New Year’s Eve strike would be even bigger.
Leaders clarified that this a peaceful protest, not a bandh. The goal is not to incovenience consumers or citizens, but to pressurise platoforms by stopping their work.
Beyond platform-specific demands, unions are urging both the Central and State governments to step in and regulate the gig economy. They have called for the enforcement of labour protections, implementation of social security frameworks for platform workers and recognition of the right to unionise and collectively bargain.
Several states – like Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jharkhand, and Telangana – have already passed laws to enshrine gig workers’ rights. Worker representatives have pointed out that while labour reforms and social security provisions for gig workers have been announced, implementation on the ground remains limited. They argue that delays in rolling out protections leave workers vulnerable to income shocks, accidents and sudden loss of work.
The newly formed Labour Codes, notified by the Central Government in November 2025, legally defined gig and platform workers for the first time. The laws ensure social security coverage – spanning life, health and accidental insurance, disability and old age pension, and maternity benefits – for all gig workers and mandates minimum wages and timely payments for all workers, organised and unorganised.
The Code on Social Security, under the new laws, requires platforms and aggregators to contribute 1-2% of their annual turnover to a social security fund.
Speaking to The New Indian Express on the laws, IFAT President Prashant Bhagesh Sawardekar said, “The reforms have merely been announced. The implementation has not happened. If it is going to take place after ten years, it will not help the struggling workers.”
National Vice President of IFAT Mohammad Inayat Ali told The Hindu that “This strike is a collective call for justice, dignity, and accountability. The government can no longer remain a silent spectator while platform companies profit at the cost of workers’ lives.”
(DS)
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