More than 100 gig workers, mostly women, staged a protest at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, demanding recognition as employees and alleging arbitrary blocking of accounts, low earnings, and lack of basic labour protection on digital platforms.
The demonstration was organised by the Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GPSIWU), a women-led body, which said similar protests were being staged in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan as well.
By early afternoon, Sunita, who works with a home services platform in Punjabi Bagh, said she already lost nearly Rs 900 in daily income by joining the protest.
Sunita said she was drawn to gig work after being promised flexible hours and stable earnings, but she now lives with the constant fear of her account being blocked.
"In the beginning, there were many bookings. They said I could manage my family. Now my ID is blocked without any explanation," she alleged.
Another protester said she worked with the same company for almost four years before her account was suspended in 2022.
Her husband died a few months later, leaving her struggling to find steady work. After briefly working as a cook for Rs 15,000 a month, she lost that job too when the employer's family moved out of Delhi.
Several women at the site covered their faces, saying they feared retaliation if they were identified by the platforms.
Many alleged that despite long working hours, deductions and mandatory charges left them with little take-home pay.
Sunita said she recently received a booking worth Rs 2,295, from which Rs 431 was deducted as commission and Rs 970 as "compulsory credit recharge".
"If we don't pay the credit amount, bookings stop coming. After working from morning till evening, this is what remains," she said, adding that the workers were also pressured to buy company products.
Union leaders said the problems went beyond pay.
GPSIWU president Seema Singh alleged that the platforms avoided responsibility when workers faced account suspensions, payment disputes or safety concerns.
"When something goes wrong, there is no human support. Workers who go to company offices in Gurugram are often sent back without solutions. Sometimes they are not even allowed to enter," she claimed.
Singh also said that women workers received little help in cases of sexual harassment or late-night safety risks.
"All they offer is an AI chatbot. That cannot help a woman facing abuse," she said.
According to some recent survey findings, a large number of gig workers in India put in extremely long hours, with nearly one in four working over 70 hours a week and more than half exceeding 49 hours.
The protest comes weeks after gig workers in Delhi held strikes during Christmas and New Year's Eve over low pay, unsafe conditions and tight work deadlines.