Key Demands Behind New Year’s Eve Walkout by Swiggy, Zomato and Gig Delivery Workers

Online food orders, grocery runs and last-minute party shopping may face widespread disruption on New Year’s Eve as gig and delivery workers prepare for a statewide walkout on December 31. The strike is expected to impact food delivery, quick commerce and e-commerce services across several parts of India.

Workers associated with platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart are likely to participate, according to labour unions. With New Year’s Eve being among the peak-demand days for online platforms, retailers that rely heavily on last-mile delivery could see significant operational challenges.

The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from regional worker organisations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.

Why Are Gig Workers Protesting?

Unions say delivery partners—the backbone of India’s app-based commerce ecosystem—are being pushed to work longer hours while their earnings continue to decline.

According to worker representatives, delivery executives face unsafe delivery targets, lack job security, experience poor workplace treatment and have little to no access to basic social security protections.

In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, IFAT said it represents nearly 4 lakh app-based delivery and transport workers across the country.

The federation noted that a statewide flash strike held on December 25 resulted in a 50–60% disruption in services in several cities. The protest, unions said, was meant to draw attention to unsafe delivery models, falling incomes, arbitrary blocking of worker IDs and the absence of social security.

Allegations Against Platform Companies

IFAT alleged that instead of engaging with workers after the December 25 protest, platform companies responded with algorithm-driven penalties, account deactivations and intimidation.

The letter also accused companies of attempting to undermine the strike by onboarding workers through other channels to keep services running.

If delivery partners log out of apps or sharply reduce workloads on December 31, customers may face delays, cancellations and limited availability.

Cities Likely to Be Affected

Disruptions are expected in major metros such as Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata, as well as several tier-2 cities, affecting food delivery, grocery services and last-minute online shopping.

Key Demands of the Workers

In its appeal to the government, IFAT has demanded:

• A ban on unsafe delivery practices, including unrealistically short delivery timelines
• Regulation of platform companies under labour laws
• An end to arbitrary ID deactivations
• Fair, transparent and predictable wage systems
• Access to social security benefits such as health cover, accident insurance and pensions
• Protection of workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively

The federation has also called for tripartite talks involving the government, platform companies and labour unions, urging swift intervention to resolve the ongoing crisis.

The letter was signed by Inayath Ali, founder of the Karnataka App-Based Workers Union and IFAT’s national vice-president, and Shaikh Salauddin, IFAT’s co-founder and national general secretary. Copies were also sent to senior officials in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.