Gig workers call nationwide strike

Delivery and gig workers from major e-commerce, food delivery, and home service platforms, including Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, Flipkart, and other e-commerce aggregator companies, are observing an all-India strike on December 25 and 31. The workers are protesting against the worsening working conditions and the denial of fair wages, safety, dignity, and social security. “Despite being the backbone of last-mile delivery, especially during peak seasons and festivals-delivery workers are forced to endure long working hours, falling earnings, unsafe delivery targets, arbitrary ID blocking, lack of job security, and absence of basic welfare protections,” said the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) in a statement. Along with a fair and transparent wage structure, the workers want an immediate withdrawal of the “10-minute delivery” models. Additionally, the workers also called for government intervention and urged both the Central and State Governments to immediately regulate the platforms.