New Year’s Strike Rattles Delivery Platforms: 1.5 Lakh Gig Workers to Participate; Swiggy, Zomato Launch Ads Enticing Riders to Work

Key Points

The strike, led by TGPWU and IFAT, will include workers from Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, Flipkart, Amazon, and Urban Company. This follows an earlier strike on Christmas 2025.

Following a flash strike on Christmas, 25 December 2025, gig workers have begun their all-India New Year’s strike against 10-minute deliveries, unfair wages, a lack of social security, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary ID blocking, and harassment and a denial of dignity.

The strike will take place over two days – 31 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 – targeting delivery platforms on the busiest days of the year. Attempting to counter the impact, Swiggy and Zomato have launched star-studded ads incentivising workers to boycott the strike.

The strike was called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and is supported by other unions like the Gig Workers Association (GigWA) and All-India Gig Workers Union (AIGWU). Workers from across Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, Flipkart, Amazon, and Urban Company are participating. The agitation is expected to cause major disruptions for quick commerce platforms across tier-1 and tier-2 cities.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Shaik Salauddin, IFAT National General Secretary and TGPWU President, said that over 1.5 lakh workers are expected to join the strike. He added that bouncers hired by quick commerce platforms were warning workers not to participate, while workers themselves were being threatened with blocked IDs.

See Also: Gig Worker Unions Call for All-India Strike on Christmas and New Year’s Eve Against 10-Minute Deliveries

Why Are Gig Workers Protesting?

The main reasons for the strike, as cited by gig workers, are low wages and unsafe working conditions.

Many riders have complained about how wages have been decreasing year on year, how holiday incentives have declined, and how qualifying criteria for regular incentives have become more stringent. Speaking to The Indian Express, one rider pointed out that minimum working hours have been increased from 10 to 13, explaining that if the cutoff is not met or if work stops before 11:30pm, daily incentives are reduced.

Workers argue that decreasing wages have made it hard for them to even run their homes. On average, a rider earns around ₹700 for 14 hours of work. At least half of this goes into costs for fuel, vehicle maintenance and leasing, food, and rent. Beyond this, workers are not covered by any form of social security by employers, meaning costs for injuries and illnesses must be borne by the rider too.

One of the main reasons for the protest are 10-minute deliveries. Workers argue that such timelines for deliveries promote reckless driving, endanger riders, and are unsustainable. Such deliveries also make very little profit for riders, and no leeway is given for unavoidable delays due to traffic, weather, long queues, etc.

Further, unions add, platforms provide no safeguards or compensation for any accident resulting from such tight deadlines. “Workers have been killed due to the constraints of the 10-minute delivery model. Who will be held responsible for their deaths,” asks Shaik Salauddin.

Inability to meet 10-minute deadlines also prompts consumer complaints and penalization by employers. Such complaints often lead to automatic ID blocking of the rider in question, done with no warning or redressal mechanism. One rider mentioned that after their ID was blocked, earnings stored in their platform wallet were restricted. Even when their ID was unblocked a year later when demand was surging, the rider alleged, the confiscated amount was not returned.

Speaking to The Hindu, a worker associated with a ride-hailing app, highlighted problems associated with the platform which differed from those that come with delivery platforms. He revealed that workers had to pay a platform fee per ride, charged at 13% of the total fare. To avoid this, workers had to purchase incentives provided by the company. “The incentive is valid for a set period,” he said, “For example, by paying ₹125, you could earn ₹1400 in three days without paying the platform fee on your rides.”

Beyond this, several other problems have been highlighted across platforms: no paid leaves, harassment and discrimination by housing societies, informal work pressure, a lack of agency in choosing orders, algorithmic discrimination, and pressure against collective bargaining.

What are the Demands of the Gig Workers’ New Year’s Strike?

On 29 December 2025, IFAT wrote a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, urging government intervention against the “exploitation of gig and platform workers and to protect their rights.”

The letter first addressed the flash strike on Christmas, the reasons for the protest, and punitive responses by platforms. It then laid out six demands of the New Year’s strike:

1.      Regulation of platform companies under labour laws

2.      Ban on unsafe “10-minute delivery” models

3.      End to arbitrary ID blocking and penalties

4.      Fair and transparent wages

5.      Social security including health, accident insurance, and pension

6.      Protection of the right to organise and collectively bargain

Other demands mentioned by workers, but not formally included in the roster, include salaried employment, an end to discrimination by housing societies, and algorithmic regulation.

The letter concluded by demanding “immediate government intervention”, urging for a tripartite discussion between unions and platforms.

See Also: Over 100 striking Samsung workers detained by Indian police for planning march

Impact of the Strike and Response by Swiggy and Zomato

Following the Christmas strike, delivery platforms had refused to engage with unions over their demands. Now, as the New Year’s strike begins, Zomato has sent out an internal communication to riders, urging them to continue work as usual. It states that company teams are on standby to provide assistance, and that riders can call the police in case they are pressured.

The most brazen move by Swiggy and Zomato to disrupt the strike has been the use of incentive ads featuring Bollywood stars and lookalikes. Zomato released an ad starring Tamannaah Bhatia, telling workers they could earn up to ₹6,000 if they ‘celebrated the new year with Zomato’. Similarly, Swiggy uploaded ads with doppelgangers of Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan promising similar earnings and ‘a chance to win an EV’.

Many other posts were uploaded by the delivery giants on pages directed at delivery workers. All of them promised unprecedented earning – many times a worker’s average daily income – on the condition that they login on 31 December and work during peak hours. Platforms have also increased earnings to ₹150-200 per order for peak hours on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Meanwhile, many prominent personalities, like Manoj Kumar Jha, Kunal Karma, and Dhruv Rathee, among others, have come out in support of the strike. Unions have said that one time incentives cannot replace consistent wages, better working conditions and formalised employment.

A joint statement by TGPWU and IFAT states: “The December 25 action sent a clear warning to platform companies about falling earnings, unsafe delivery pressure, and loss of dignity at work. However, companies responded with silence – no rollback of reduced payouts, no dialogue with workers, and no concrete assurances on safety or working hours. This continued indifference has made today's strike unavoidable.”

Shaik Salauddin said that platforms were threatening workers, deploying bouncers near warehouses and rider IDs were being blocked. Another rider also mentioned that bouncers picked up workers who encouraged others to participate in the Christmas strike and several riders’ WhatsApp groups were deleted. Others have added that they are being threatened to work 16 hours on the day of the strike or risk their IDs being blocked. Riders participating in the strike also revealed that company officials have been contacting them incessantly, urging them to work.

It is worth noting that Patna High Court, on 30 December 2025, held that participation in a strike alone cannot justify termination. Despite this, Swiggy and Zomato have threatened workers through bouncers and third parties. Many workers have chosen not to participate in the strike simply because they cannot afford to – some cannot afford to sacrifice even a day’s earnings while others cannot risk their IDs being suspended. 

IFAT’s letter to the Labour Minister revealed that around 40,000 workers participated in the Christmas strike, resulting in 50-60% service disruption across many cities. The New Year’s strike is expected to see nearly four times the participation on the busiest business day for quick commerce platforms.

Both Swiggy and Zomato stocks saw a steady, though marginal, decline following the announcement of the Christmas strike. Both recovered on 29 December 2025, before dipping again in the lead up to the New Year’s strike. Eternal, parent company of Zomato and Swiggy, saw shares dip to a five-month low on 30 December 2025. The trend is expected to continue as the strike goes ahead.

Suggested Reading: