New Year’s Eve Strike to Slow India’s Delivery Apps as Gig Workers Escalate Protest

As India prepares to ring in the New Year, food orders and grocery deliveries may arrive later than expected. Gig and platform workers have announced a second nationwide strike scheduled for December 31, a move that is likely to disrupt services during one of the busiest consumption days of the year. The protest follows an earlier walkout on Christmas Day, signalling rising discontent within the app-driven delivery ecosystem.

Delivery partners associated with major platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, and Flipkart BigBasket are expected to take part. The strike has been called by the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers and deliberately coincides with peak festive demand, when households rely heavily on instant food and grocery deliveries.

Why Delivery Workers Are Protesting

According to the federation, workers who joined the earlier strike cited deteriorating working conditions and shrinking real earnings despite rising living costs. A central grievance revolves around ultra-fast delivery expectations, often set at 10 to 20 minutes, which, workers argue, push riders into unsafe behaviour on overcrowded urban roads.

Union representatives have urged the Ministry of Labour to intervene and abolish these compressed timelines. They maintain that algorithm-driven pressure to deliver faster compromises safety and leaves riders vulnerable to accidents, fines, and physical exhaustion.

Income stability has emerged as another flashpoint. Workers are demanding a minimum payout per kilometre travelled and a guaranteed monthly income of ₹24,000, which they say is essential for sustaining livelihoods in an increasingly volatile gig economy.

Core Demands from the Gig Workforce

In a formal letter addressed to the labour ministry, the union has asked for legal recognition of platform-based delivery partners as “workers” rather than “partners.” This reclassification would bring them under the ambit of existing labour laws and unlock statutory protections currently unavailable to gig workers.

Their demands extend across multiple fronts:

End to Arbitrary Controls: Workers want safeguards against sudden account deactivations, rating-linked penalties, and opaque algorithmic decisions that limit access to work without explanation.

Fairer Work Structures: The union has called for the removal of intense peak-hour pressure, rigid time-slot allocations, and weekend caps that restrict earning potential.

Financial Safeguards: Demands include capping platform deductions at 20%, compensation for customer cancellations, exclusion of cancellations from performance scores, and an end to automatic recovery of credit advances.

Safety and Human Support: Workers are asking for extended delivery windows to reduce speed-related hazards and the replacement of AI-only customer support with 24/7 human grievance redressal.

Inclusive Benefits: Female delivery partners have sought maternity benefits, emergency leave provisions, and stronger safety mechanisms at work.

The federation has also urged the central government to initiate tripartite negotiations under the Industrial Disputes Act. Union leaders warn that ignoring these issues could destabilise the sector and erode trust in platform-led employment models.

As New Year’s Eve approaches, customers may face slower deliveries, but for gig workers, the strike represents a bid for dignity, safety, and economic certainty in an industry built on speed.