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Delivery partners associated with major food delivery and e-commerce platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon and Flipkart have announced a nationwide strike on December 25 and December 31, 2025. The protest call, issued by multiple gig worker unions, seeks to highlight what they describe as worsening working conditions across India’s platform-based economy.
Unions Cite Falling Incomes and Rising Occupational Risks
In a joint statement, the unions said delivery workers—who form the backbone of last-mile logistics, particularly during festivals and peak-demand periods—are struggling with shrinking earnings, erratic work hours and increasing occupational risks. They alleged that pressure to meet unrealistic delivery targets has intensified over time, negatively impacting both income stability and worker safety.
Workers raised concerns over unsafe delivery timelines, especially under ultra-fast delivery models such as 10-minute deliveries. According to the unions, such models push workers to take risks on the road, increasing the likelihood of accidents. Frequent account suspensions without prior notice or clear explanations were also cited as a major grievance, leaving workers suddenly without income or access to work.
Lack of Welfare Benefits Despite Labour Law Changes
The unions pointed to the absence of basic welfare benefits, including health insurance, accident cover and social security, despite delivery workers being treated as essential contributors to platform growth. They argued that while platform companies continue to expand operations, workers are forced to bear most of the operational and financial risks.
The strike announcement comes in the wake of recent labour law provisions that mandate platform aggregators to contribute 1–2 per cent of their turnover towards a social security fund for gig and platform workers. However, unions contend that these measures have yet to result in meaningful on-ground protections or tangible benefits for delivery workers.
Demands Include Pay Transparency and Limits on Algorithmic Control
Among the key demands are transparent and predictable pay structures that account for actual working hours, fuel costs and other on-ground expenses. Workers have also called for the rollback of ultra-fast delivery models, citing heightened safety risks. Additional demands include an end to arbitrary ID blocking, assured work allocation, mandatory rest breaks, improved accident insurance, provision of safety equipment and stronger in-app grievance redressal mechanisms.
The unions also raised concerns over what they termed “unchecked algorithmic control,” alleging that opaque automated systems increasingly govern pay, incentives and work allocation. According to them, frequent and unpredictable changes to incentive structures have transferred business risks onto workers while delivery expectations continue to tighten.
Calling for government intervention, the unions urged both the Centre and state governments to regulate platform-based work more strictly, enforce labour protections, recognise the right to unionise and allow collective bargaining. Warning of escalating pressure on gig workers, union leaders said the strike represents a collective demand for dignity, safety and accountability as platform companies continue to scale rapidly across the country.
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