E-com, food delivery services largely unaffected by gig workers' strike

New Delhi: A section of gig workers on Wednesday stopped work demanding better pay and work conditions but the agitation had little impact on services on e-commerce and online food delivery platforms that saw robust business on New Year Eve.

While at some places gig workers staged demonstrations, firms like Zomato, Swiggy offered more incentives to delivery partners, a standard practice on festive periods, to ensure minimal disruptions in services on New Year's Eve.

Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union (TGPWU) and Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) have claimed that lakhs of workers are set to join the nationwide strike to demand better payouts and improved working conditions.

While the workers' bodies claimed that many of their members, who are associated with food delivery and quick commerce firms like Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto, have stayed away from work, company insiders said it is business as usual for them on New Year's Eve.

Amid the strike call, Zomato offered delivery partners payouts of Rs 120-150 per order during peak hours between 6 pm and 12 am on New Year's Eve.

The platform has also promised earnings of up to Rs 3,000 over the course of the day, subject to order volumes and worker availability, people in the know of the development said.

In addition, Zomato has temporarily waived penalties on order denials and cancellations, they said, however, stressing that it was a standard operating protocol followed during high-demand festive and year-end periods.

"This is part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods, which typically see higher earning opportunities due to increased demand," an Eternal spokesperson told PTI.

Eternal owns Zomato and Blinkit brands.

Similarly, Swiggy has also increased incentives around the year-end period, offering delivery workers earnings of up to Rs 10,000 across December 31 and January 1, according to people aware of the development.

"At Swiggy, we are committed to empowering our delivery partners. As part of our standard process, enhanced incentives are offered on special occasions such as festivals, allowing delivery partners to benefit from increased earning opportunities during peak demand periods across the year," the company said.

On New Year's Eve, the platform is advertising peak-hour earnings of up to Rs 2,000 for the six-hour period between 6 pm and 12 am, in a bid to ensure adequate rider availability during one of the busiest ordering windows of the year, they said, maintaining that increased payouts were a standard practice during such periods.

In a joint statement, TGPWU and IFAT said, "As of last night, over 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers across India have confirmed participation, with numbers expected to rise further by evening." On the other hand, people in the know said that following the massive December 25 strike, which saw thousands of delivery workers log off platforms across Telangana and other regions, gig workers have announced an escalated nationwide strike on December 31, 2025, said the joint statement of TGPWU and IFAT.

"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," it added.

The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union also announced a nationwide strike on December 31, 2025 to collectively raise demands concerning the rights, welfare and dignity of gig and platform workers across India.

Giving a call to action, it said, "All gig workers, platform workers, digital platform workers, app-based workers, and online freelancers are earnestly requested to participate in the national strike by shutting down all work-related applications and abstaining from providing services on December 31, 2025, thereby making the strike united and effective." Supporting the gig workers, AITUC general secretary Amarjeet Kaur said they must be given the status of industrial workers.

They are usually referred to as partners by the platforms they are associated with, she said, adding there is no mention of gig workers in three out of four labour codes.