What Is the Dispute?
In late December 2025 and early January 2026, thousands of gig economy workers in India, primarily food delivery and quick-commerce riders organized coordinated nationwide strikes across major cities. The action was especially notable on December 25 and New Year’s Eve (December 31), when demand for delivery is usually high.
These strikes were one of the largest collective actions by gig workers in India’s history, indicating a major escalation in labor mobilization in the platform economy.
Who Are Gig Workers?
Gig workers in this context include:
- Food delivery riders (Zomato, Swiggy)
- Quick commerce/delivery riders (Blinkit, Zepto)
- E-commerce delivery partners (Amazon, Flipkart)
- They are typically classified as independent contractors — not formal employees — meaning they do not automatically receive labor protections such as minimum wages, paid leave, provident fund benefits, medical coverage, or formal accident compensation.
Key Grievances
a) Earnings & Pay Structure
- Platform algorithms determine delivery assignments and payment per task.
- Workers report low effective hourly pay after accounting for fuel, phone usage, maintenance, and waiting times.
- Independent audits showed some delivery earnings averaging around approximately ₹80–₹100 per hour after expenses, which workers say is below a livable wage, especially in big cities.
b) Algorithmic Management
Workers criticized platform algorithms for:
- Rigid delivery time targets (10–15 minutes in dense urban zones) that push riders to speed or take risks.
- Penalties and rating drops for cancellations or slow deliveries, with little transparency.
- Riders argued these target pressures are unsafe and exploitative, leading to heightened accident risk.
c) Lack of Social Security
Gig workers are not covered under regular employment protections. While some platforms offer insurance tie-ups, workers say:
- Coverage limits are low.
- Claims are difficult to process.
- No systematic access to provident fund, maternity benefits, disability compensation, or paid leave.
- This creates a “protection gap” compared to formal jobs.
d) Classification & Recognition
Workers demand that they be:
- Recognized as “workers” under labor laws.
- Covered by minimum labor standards such as minimum per-kilometer rates, minimum income guarantees, and regulated working hour protections.
Scale of the Movement
- Tens of thousands of workers participated in strikes across cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune.
- Organized actions occurred on high-demand days — particularly New Year’s Eve — indicating strategic coordination.
- Worker unions and collectives claimed participation from an estimated 100,000+ riders nationwide on key protest days.
- This collective scale is unusual in India’s gig workforce, which has historically been fragmented.
Platform Responses
The CEO of a leading food delivery company stated that delivery targets and pay structures are designed for operational efficiency.
Platforms highlighted that average earnings have increased year-over-year, citing percentage growth figures in rider hourly earnings.
Companies emphasized benefits such as third-party insurance covers, claims processing systems, and some flexible work arrangements. Platforms claim that Riders enjoy flexibility and can choose working hours. Earnings growth has been double-digit year-on-year (e.g., a 10–15% reported increase in average per-hour earnings in 2025 compared to 2024).
But workers counter that such figures ignore costs, and that:
- Peak-time bonuses are inconsistent.
- Fuel price inflation has increased operating costs sharply.
- Net effective incomes remain near subsistence levels, especially in expensive urban centers.