Dikhyaa Mohanty 
According to organizations representing the workers, gig and platform workers in India are preparing for a statewide demonstration on New Year’s Eve (December 31) to demand improved working conditions, fair salaries, and a stop to ultra-fast delivery objectives that they claim jeopardize their lives. Delivery executives, ride-hail drivers, and home-service employees connected to major online platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart will participate in the strike, which was called jointly by the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union.
The unions outlined six principal demands, including:
- Immediate withdrawal of the “10-minute delivery” business model — a system that workers say pressures them into unsafe driving and puts their lives at risk.
- Fair and transparent wage structures that reflect actual working hours and costs.
- Assured and consistent work allocation without algorithmic discrimination and with reasonable working hours.
- Job security and comprehensive social security benefits, including health coverage, accident insurance and pension support.
- Stronger technical and grievance support, and an end to arbitrary penalties and account blocking without due process.
Additionally, unions have demanded that the federal and state governments intervene to better regulate platform corporations, uphold labor laws, and establish social security programs for gig and platform workers. “Delivery workers are being pushed to breaking point by unsafe work models, falling incomes, and total absence of social protection,” according to a statement from IFAT national general secretary Shaik Salauddin. He went on to say that the walkout was a communal demand “for justice, dignity, and accountability.”
The rallies coincide with growing dissatisfaction among gig workers around the country over concerns that they claim have not been sufficiently addressed despite several requests to platform management, including excessive hours, diminishing wages, risky delivery targets, and arbitrary account deactivations.
