Delivery partners from major platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart staged nationwide flash strikes yesterday on December 25, 2025, and have announced another on December 31, led by unions including the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT).
These timed protests, lasting two hours per platform during peak festival hours, spotlighted plunging earnings, hazardous delivery targets, sudden account suspensions, and the glaring absence of social security benefits despite recent labour law mandates.
While platforms have reaffirmed their commitment to the new Code on Social Security requiring 1-2% turnover contributions to welfare funds no direct responses to the strikes emerged, and government officials remained silent as e-Shram registrations for gig workers continue apace.
Strike’s Real-World Ripples
The actions disrupted services in key cities, with Gurugram residents facing delays in food and cab orders amid Christmas rush, as unions strategically capped halts to amplify voices without paralysing urban life.
Workers shared harrowing tales of squeezing through traffic for 10-minute deliveries, battling fuel costs that devour incentives, and enduring erratic shifts that blur work and rest.
“Delivery workers are being pushed to breaking point by unsafe work models, falling incomes, and total absence of social protection,” declared Shaik Salauddin, founder president of TGPWU and national general secretary of IFAT, capturing the raw frustration of those powering last-mile logistics.
In metros and tier-2 towns alike, riders highlighted arbitrary ID blocks that wipe out livelihoods overnight, pressure cooker timelines spiking accident risks, and opaque algorithms dictating pay without recourse issues that humanise the faceless backbone of India’s quick-commerce boom.
Evolving Policy Landscape
This escalation builds on the November 2025 enforcement of the Code on Social Security, a landmark shift formally recognising gig and platform workers with provisions for health coverage, insurance, maternity benefits, and pensions funded by aggregator contributions.
States like Rajasthan and Karnataka have pioneered rollouts, yet unions argue implementation lags, leaving riders exposed as platforms shift operational burdens through “unchecked algorithmic control” that tweaks incentives unpredictably and enforces punishing quotas.
No major incidents disrupted yesterday’s protests, but the December 31 call looms larger with New Year’s Eve frenzy, testing whether timed strikes evolve into broader mobilisations.
Platforms, previously stating the welfare mandates pose minimal financial strain, have prioritised compliance rhetoric over addressing core grievances like safety gear shortages, mandatory breaks, or in-app dispute resolution.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
At the heart of this standoff lies a profound imbalance: gig workers, often from modest backgrounds, propel trillion-rupee platforms to dizzying valuations, yet grapple with indignities that erode their dignity and safety.
True progress demands empathy over exploitation platforms must pivot from velocity-obsessed models to transparent, worker-centric systems; unions should channel protests into sustained dialogue; and governments owe rigorous enforcement of welfare funds alongside legal safeguards for unionisation and bargaining.
Such harmony fosters coexistence, turning adversarial tensions into collaborative strides for equitable growth that uplifts all stakeholders.
