Gig Workers Strike on Dec 31: Zomato, Swiggy, Amazon Face Nationwide Shutdown Over Pay, Safety Demands
The unions stated that the strike is a response to deteriorating conditions of work in the gig and platform economy. Workers have voiced their concerns about low wages that keep dropping and lack of safety, job insecurity, and no social protection.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) December 26: The delivery workers for major food delivery and online shopping platforms like Amazon, Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Blinkit, and Flipkart have decided to strike throughout India on December 31, 2025. This is after the strike on Christmas Day, December 25, because of the same demands.
Union Leaders' Call
The announcement of the strike came from the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union in collaboration with the Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers.
One of the reasons for this urgency to strike, according to Shaik Salauddin, Founder President of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and National General Secretary of IFAT, was that the protest was a collective call for justice, dignity, and accountability.
He also pointed out that the government should not remain a silent spectator while platform companies profit at the cost of workers' lives.
Battle Against Algorithmic Oppression
The workers claim that their repeated strikes put platform companies in a position where they cannot ignore them as they continue to deteriorate conditions of the gig economy.
The unions also make a point that one of their greatest concerns is what they call "unchecked algorithmic control", where they accuse that opaque automated systems are increasingly governing pay, incentives and work allocation without their knowledge.
They say that the frequent and unpredictable changes to incentive structures have made workers carry the risk of the business while delivery expectations are still being tightened.
Key Grievances
In a statement, the unions mentioned that delivery workers are very important especially during festivals, weekends and peak hours. Nevertheless, a great number of them are now having difficulties due to dropping earnings, long working hours and delivery deadlines which are unsafe.
Some other problems that have been brought up are sudden blocking of work IDs without giving a reasonable explanation, payment failures and lack of clarity in routes assigned by the apps. Workers say that there is no proper mechanism for complaint resolution and that their complaints are not dealt with promptly.
Government Demands
The unions, when calling for government intervention, requested the Centre and state governments to regulate platform- based work more strictly, labour protections to be enforced, the right to unionise to be recognised and collective bargaining to be allowed.
On the threshold of mounting pressures on gig workers, union leaders considered the strike as a collective expression of the need for dignity, safety and accountability as platform companies continue to expand rapidly throughout the country.
Festive Impact
With consecutive strikes scheduled for the festive season, unions expect that the pressure will compel both companies and policymakers to take gig workers' demands seriously.
So, if a great number of people participate, customers may not get their deliveries on time, or the service may be unavailable on December 31.
