Indian Gig Workers Stage Nationwide Strike on New Year's Eve

Gig workers across India, including delivery partners for major platforms like Zomato and Swiggy, launched a nationwide strike on December 31, 2025, protesting low pay, unsafe working conditions and lack of social security, as companies offered elevated incentives to maintain services during the high-demand New Year's Eve period.

The action, coordinated by unions such as the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers and the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union, involved workers logging off apps and abstaining from deliveries. It followed a flash strike on December 25 that caused disruptions of 50 to 60 percent in services in several cities, according to union reports. Organizers estimated over 1.7 lakh participants had confirmed involvement by the evening before the strike, with numbers expected to grow, affecting food delivery, quick commerce and e-commerce operations in major urban centers including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata.

Workers' grievances center on declining earnings despite longer hours, pressure from rapid delivery timelines such as 10-minute targets, arbitrary account deactivations and...