A section of gig workers on Wednesday stopped work demanding better pay and improved working conditions, but the agitation had little impact on services on e-commerce and online food delivery platforms, which reported robust business on New Year’s Eve.
While gig workers staged demonstrations at some places, companies such as Zomato and Swiggy rolled out additional incentives for delivery partners, a standard practice during festive periods, to ensure minimal disruption to services on New Year’s Eve.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) claimed that lakhs of workers were set to join the nationwide strike to press for better payouts and improved working conditions.
The workers’ bodies said many of their members associated with food delivery and quick commerce firms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto stayed away from work.
Company insiders, however, said it was business as usual on New Year’s Eve.
Amid the strike call, Zomato offered delivery partners payouts of Rs 120 to Rs 150 per order during peak hours between 6 pm and 12 am on New Year’s Eve.
The platform also promised earnings of up to Rs 3,000 over the course of the day, subject to order volumes and worker availability, people in the know said.
In addition, Zomato temporarily waived penalties on order denials and cancellations. People aware of the development stressed that this was a standard operating protocol during high-demand festive and year-end periods.
"This is part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods, which typically see higher earning opportunities due to increased demand," an Eternal spokesperson told PTI. Eternal owns the Zomato and Blinkit brands.
Swiggy, too, increased incentives around the year-end period, offering delivery workers earnings of up to Rs 10,000 across 31 December and 1 January, according to people aware of the development.
"At Swiggy, we are committed to empowering our delivery partners. As part of our standard process, enhanced incentives are offered on special occasions such as festivals, allowing delivery partners to benefit from increased earning opportunities during peak demand periods across the year," the company said.
On New Year’s Eve, Swiggy advertised peak-hour earnings of up to Rs 2,000 for the six-hour period between 6 pm and 12 am to ensure adequate rider availability during one of the busiest ordering windows of the year.
The company maintained that increased payouts were a standard practice during such periods.
In a joint statement, TGPWU and IFAT said, "As of last night, over 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers across India have confirmed participation, with numbers expected to rise further by evening."
People in the know said that following the 25 December strike, which saw thousands of delivery workers log off platforms across Telangana and other regions, gig workers announced an escalated nationwide strike on 31 December, 2025, according to the joint statement.
"The 25 December action sent a clear warning to platform companies about falling earnings, unsafe delivery pressure, and loss of dignity at work."
"However, companies responded with silence -- no rollback of reduced payouts, no dialogue with workers, and no concrete assurances on safety or working hours. This continued indifference has made today's strike unavoidable," it added.
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union also announced a nationwide strike on 31 December, 2025, to collectively raise demands related to the rights, welfare and dignity of gig and platform workers across India.
Issuing a call to action, it said, "All gig workers, platform workers, digital platform workers, app-based workers, and online freelancers are earnestly requested to participate in the national strike by shutting down all work-related applications and abstaining from providing services on 31 December, 2025, thereby making the strike united and effective."
Supporting the gig workers, AITUC general secretary Amarjeet Kaur said they must be given the status of industrial workers.
They are usually referred to as partners by the platforms they are associated with, she said, adding that there is no mention of gig workers in three out of four labour codes.