Why Indian gig workers are on strike on New Year’s Eve over ‘10-minute deliveries’

Thousands of gig workers in India are protesting on New Year's Eve, demanding fixed minimum wages and better working conditions from ‘10-minute delivery’ app platforms.

Delivery workers associated with major quick e-commerce and food delivery platforms, such as Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart, are classified as “partners” by their companies, receiving commission-based payments instead of fixed wages.

The workers have routinely complained about falling incomes, excessive working hours, unsafe delivery targets through the '10-minute deliveries’ featured on the apps, retaliatory ID suspension, lack of paid leave, and a overall deplorable state of job security.

The Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GIPSWU) has asked its members not to operate their apps through which they get assignments from e-commerce platforms on one of the busiest days for deliveries.

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The strike is the latest escalation in a deepening standoff between quick commerce platforms and delivery workers at a time when India’s gig economy is projected to employ more than 23 million people by 2029.

Nirmal Gorana, the general secretary of GIPSWU, said gig workers faced growing systemic exclusion from core labour rights such as minimum wage, healthy working conditions and social security. The workers have demanded to be paid a minimum monthly wage of Rs40,000 (£332).

“This strike unites gig workers and allies to demand immediate government intervention. We have requested the workers associated with our organisation not to work tomorrow. We have sought intervention from the Union government to address their issues,” Mr Gorana was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.

He said the gig workers face penalties and are often denied work because of delays in reaching the houses of customers on time.

The nationwide strike on Wednesday was called by at least three major unions.

Shaik Salauddin, the general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), said at least 150,000 delivery workers would participate in the strike, affecting services across the country. He told The New Indian Express that in the southern city of Hyderabad, bouncers were moving around vehicles on behalf of Zomato to warn workers against joining the protest.

The IFAT had carried out a similar protest, albeit on a smaller scale, on 25 December, demanding better wages and a comprehensive national policy, which Mr Salauddin said led to about 60 per cent disruption in services in multiple cities. However, the federation alleged that companies responded to the Christmas Day strike with threats to deactivate the gig workers' accounts.

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The IFAT said it represents around 4,00,000 app-based transport and delivery workers across the country.

Following the strike announcement, app-based food delivery services Zomato and Swiggy employed Bollywood actors to entice workers with promises of lump-sum earnings for working during the holidays.

Zomato said it would offer delivery partners payouts of between Rs120 (about £1)and Rs150 (£1.2) per order during peak hours from 6pm to midnight on New Year’s Eve.

The platform has also pitched potential earnings of up to Rs3,000 (£24.8) for the day, though the figure hinges on order volumes and worker availability, according to reports. Zomato claimed to have temporarily waived penalties on order denials and cancellations.

"This is part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods, which typically see higher earning opportunities due to increased demand," a spokesperson with Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, told PTI news agency.

Swiggy, which runs the Instamart service, has also rolled out year-end incentives, with delivery workers able to earn up to Rs10,000 (£86) till 1 January.