Swiggy, Zomato Delivery Workers to Strike on New Year’s Eve: Demands and Impact

Online food, grocery and e-commerce deliveries may face widespread disruptions on New Year’s Eve as gig and platform workers plan a nationwide strike on December 31, one of the busiest days of the year for app-based services.

Delivery partners associated with platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart are expected to participate in the protest, which unions say could impact last-minute party orders, grocery runs and year-end online sales.

The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union along with the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, with support from worker groups across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.

Unions allege that gig workers are being compelled to work longer hours even as earnings decline. They claim delivery partners face unsafe timelines, arbitrary account blocking, limited job security and lack of access to basic social protection.

According to the federation, a nationwide flash strike held on December 25 had already disrupted 50–60% of services in several cities. The union said the earlier protest failed to elicit meaningful engagement from platform companies, alleging that workers instead faced threats, penalties and deactivations.

With many delivery executives expected to log off apps or reduce workloads on December 31, customers may experience delays and cancellations. Major cities including Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata, along with several tier-2 markets, are likely to be affected.

The unions have urged the government to bring platform companies under labour regulations, ban unsafe ultra-fast delivery models, ensure transparent wage systems and provide social security benefits such as health insurance, accident cover and pensions. They have also sought protection of workers’ right to organise and called for tripartite talks involving the government, platforms and worker representatives.