New Year celebrations may face disruption as delivery workers announce nationwide strike, key services to be affected
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Thousands of gig workers associated with major delivery and e-commerce platforms have called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday, which may cause major disruptions during New Year’s Eve celebrations across India. The strike has been jointly announced by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from several regional unions operating in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.
Customers in major cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata may face long waiting times, order cancellations and limited delivery availability throughout the day. Several tier-2 cities are also expected to be impacted as local worker groups join the strike.
The unions clarified that the protest is not intended to inconvenience customers but to draw urgent attention to the challenges faced by gig workers. They have urged platform companies to engage in dialogue and implement fair wage structures, social security benefits and transparent policies. Union leaders said the strike reflects growing dissatisfaction among gig workers over declining earnings, increasing workloads and the absence of basic labour protections.
Delivery partners working with platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart have announced plans to log out of their apps or significantly reduce work. This has raised concerns about service disruptions, delayed deliveries and order cancellations on one of the busiest commercial days of the year.
December 31 is traditionally among the highest-demand days for food delivery, quick commerce and online shopping due to New Year celebrations and year-end sales. Industry experts have warned that large-scale participation in the strike could severely impact last-mile delivery operations, affecting restaurants, grocery platforms and retailers that rely heavily on app-based logistics to meet revenue targets.
According to unions, delivery partners are being forced to work longer hours while per-order payments continue to decline. Workers have also raised concerns over lack of insurance coverage, unsafe working conditions, arbitrary penalties and absence of job security. Despite being described as “partners” and the backbone of India’s digital commerce ecosystem, gig workers allege they are being treated unfairly by platform companies.