Delivery workers’ reactions to a statewide strike on New Year’s Eve to protest poor pay and a lack of social security benefits were varied, despite app-based companies offering seasonal incentives in an effort to combat delayed service and a staffing shortage. The majority of consumers were unaware of the strike; however, a few orders experienced excessive delays.
Incentives Offered by Delivery Platforms
Eternal, Swiggy, and Zepto increased compensation per order for delivery partners in anticipation of one of the biggest days for food and grocery delivery platforms and a spike in order volumes. Shaik Salauddin, founder president of Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union, which is spearheading the demonstration alongside the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, stated, “Platforms which normally pay us Rs 5-Rs 10 for delivering an order are today offering an incentive in the range of Rs 110-150 per order.” Additionally, aggregators offered to eliminate fines for order cancellations and rejections.
Workers’ Resistance
Some employees, meanwhile, were unwilling to give up. Aggregators were bombarding them with New Year’s Eve promises of bonuses and “double profits,” according to Siddhesh Patil (name changed per request), “but these objectives are hard to reach, anyhow.” However, he noted that those on strike ran the possibility of having the aggregator ban their IDs as a kind of punishment.
“We are unable to convert many food delivery orders during holidays and special occasions like December 31 and January 1 because eateries are overcrowded and unable to process online orders quickly enough,” he said. He said that he would still fall short of the goal even if Zomato or Swiggy promised him an additional Rs 90 per order to cover the busy hour 6–10pm supper slot and guaranteed a compensation of Rs 2,175 to finish 19 orders in six hours. “I finish 20 orders between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on a typical day. I struggled to finish fifteen orders on New Year’s Eve last year.”
Company Promises and Union Response
All of Zomato’s staff received a letter on November 30 guaranteeing that “no delivery partner would suffer any obstacle while delivering orders.” Therefore, log in worry-free on December 31, 2025, and earn up to Rs 3,500. The message continued by promising staff on-the-job support to “protect their safety” and even urging them to report any disruptions they encountered while delivering.
According to union officials, the letter indicates that aggregators now acknowledge the increasing opposition as a significant factor. According to Salauddin, they are advising gig workers to support the strike and resist the temptation of more compensation. Salauddin said, “This is not a true answer to long-standing concerns of salary reduction, dangerous work pressure, and arbitrary regulations.”
Challenges Faced by Gig Workers
The app economy’s driving force, gig workers, are complaining of pressure from 10-minute delivery models, which they claim are causing accidents, injuries, and mental stress. Additionally, they want to stop fines, ID blocking, arbitrary incentive structures, and ongoing reductions in rewards per order.
Restaurants Adapt to the Strike
Many restaurants are using their own apps and internal delivery fleet to get direct customers in order to prevent any interruptions during the conflict between employees and digital platforms. Sagar Daryani, co-founder and CEO of Wow! Momo Foods, said, “We have increased attention on our own Wow Eats app and have been sending mass emails to our clients to encourage ordering on our app on New Year’s Eve.” According to Daryani, certain eateries in the sector are collaborating with Rapido and Shadowfax, whose riders are not involved in the scheduled strike.
Chowman, a restaurant in Kolkata, said that it is aggressively promoting its own app orders so that the company’s own fleet can easily handle any possible deficit.
