Why are gig workers going on strike? Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit delivery drivers offer details

Gig workers across India went on strike on Thursday, affecting food, grocery, and package deliveries at this crucial festive period.

Led by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), delivery drivers working for food and grocery delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato can be seen refusing to deliver items as part of the Christmas strike, causing widespread disruptions.

Flagging poor working conditions, gig workers' unions have said that the move was aimed at combating long and variable working hours, worsening earnings, and rising safety risks—especially at times when demand peaks, such as during festival seasons.

Among the striking workers' main demands are fairer pay structures, stopping 'ten-minute' delivery models, and ending account suspensions without due process.

Gig workers have also sought better safety gear, better accident insurance, and better-defined rest periods. 

"If some problem were to happen to us, what would we do? Neither does Swiggy have an ambulance, nor does it do medical checkups," a Swiggy Instamart delivery driver could be seen saying, in a video that has since gone viral on X.

"We don't even have a bathroom," the driver added, pointing out that he and various others had raised these demands to their managers multiple times, but to no avail.

"Instead of addressing workers’ demands, companies tried to break the strike by using third-party delivery agencies, extra incentive bribes, and reactivating inactive IDs," the TGPWU said in a thread on X.

The workers' union has also said that the next part of the strike will take place on New Year's Eve (December 31), which is exactly a week away.

"Let it be clear: delivery workers are not slaves of algorithms ... If repression continues, our resistance will only grow stronger," the TGPWU added.

This week is generally a busy time for gig workers, as customers are often offered festive season discounts at this time.