You must visit your nearest grocery store to purchase all party essentials if planning a New Year’s celebration. This is because delivery personnel across major Indian platforms, including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon, and Flipkart, have announced a nationwide strike on Wednesday, 31st December. This means relying on last-minute deliveries for party supplies or food is not an option.
Highlights
Details of the Nationwide Strike
The strike is led by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) along with the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), coinciding with New Year’s Eve, which is one of the peak times for online deliveries.
Worker Participation
Union leaders expect over one lakh workers to participate by either logging out of their applications or reducing their workload significantly. The upcoming protest follows another strike on Christmas Day, where approximately 40,000 workers participated, reportedly causing a 60% disruption in deliveries across various cities. Significant urban areas that will likely be impacted include Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai (Pune), Hyderabad, and Kolkata.
Reasons for the Protest
This strike aims to bring attention to the worsening working conditions within the gig economy. The primary concerns raised include inadequate payment, lack of job security, and absence of social security benefits, such as accident insurance or health coverage. Workers have also raised issues with “app-based governance,” where obscure algorithms control pay rates, incentives, and penalties without prior notification or justification.
Concerns About Delivery Practices
Moreover, the unions are against ultra-fast delivery models that promise deliveries within 10 minutes. They contend that these stringent timelines promote unsafe driving behaviours and raise the risk of accidents. Shaik Salauddin, the founder of TGPWU, claimed that companies have previously responded to worker concerns with ID blocking, threats, and algorithmic penalties, labelling the situation as “modern-day exploitation.”
Future of the Gig Economy
While estimates from Niti Aayog suggest India’s gig economy could grow to 2.35 crore workers by 2030, unions contend that this growth has not translated into fair wages or improved working conditions. Major platform companies have not yet commented on the strike announcement, so consumers are advised to prepare for their year-end celebrations in advance to avoid any disruptions to services.