Zomato, Swiggy Deliveries May Be Hit As Gig Workers Call Nationwide Strike On New Year’s Eve
Maharashtra Government To Make Police Verification Mandatory For Delivery And Gig Workers
Pune, December 31, 2025: The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) has called for a nationwide strike on December 31, demanding improved wages, safer working conditions and the withdrawal of 10-minute delivery guarantees imposed by app-based platforms. The protest is expected to impact food delivery and quick commerce services, including Swiggy and Zomato, on New Year’s Eve.
Following a protest held earlier this month, the union has appealed to gig workers across the country to join the strike. A 15-point charter of demands has been submitted to Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya through a letter signed by GIPSWU president Seema Singh and national coordinator Nirmal Gorana.
The union, which describes itself as India’s first women-led national trade union for gig and platform workers, has sought the immediate discontinuation of 10- and 20-minute delivery mandates, citing safety concerns and work pressure. It has also demanded a minimum per-kilometre payment of ₹20 for delivery partners working with platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Flipkart and BigBasket.
Other key demands include emergency leave provisions, comprehensive maternity benefits for women workers, and an end to arbitrary ID deactivations and punitive rating systems. The union has further called for a guaranteed minimum monthly income of ₹40,000, abolition of peak-hour, slot-based and weekend work limits, and compensation for order cancellations initiated by customers.
Additional demands include replacing AI-based support systems with round-the-clock human customer care, scrapping mandatory pre- and post-delivery photo uploads, restoring company-operated hubs, and restricting women workers’ delivery assignments to within a seven-kilometre radius of their homes.
In its letter to the labour minister, the union said gig workers continue to remain outside the ambit of core labour protections under existing laws. It highlighted instances of harassment, discrimination and violence faced by platform workers and urged the government to intervene urgently.
The union stated that the strike aims to draw attention to the growing exploitation of gig workers in India’s expanding platform economy and to press for reforms aligned with existing labour laws and constitutional safeguards.
