Food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy have announced higher incentives for delivery partners on New Year’s Eve, even as gig workers’ unions pressed ahead with a nationwide call for a strike during one of the busiest days for online food orders.
The companies said the payouts were part of routine festive-season planning. Unions, however, argue the move highlights deeper, unresolved issues around pay, safety, and labour rights in India’s growing gig economy.
What the strike is about
Several labour bodies, including the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers and the Gig and Platform Service Workers’ Union, urged delivery workers to log off apps on December 31. The protest targets major platforms across food delivery and quick commerce.
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Workers are demanding regulation of platform companies under labour laws, transparent and fair wages, social security benefits, an end to arbitrary ID blocking, and a ban on high-pressure “10-minute delivery” models that they say compromise safety. The unions have also called for recognition of the right to organise and collectively bargain.
Higher payouts to keep services running
Amid the strike call, Zomato rolled out peak-hour incentives ranging from ₹120 to ₹150 per order between 6 pm and 12 am on New Year’s Eve, according to PTI. The platform also indicated that delivery partners could earn up to ₹3,000 during the day, depending on order volumes and availability. Penalties for order denials and cancellations were temporarily waived, sources said.
A spokesperson for Eternal Limited, which owns Zomato and Blinkit, said these measures follow the company’s “standard annual operating protocol during festive periods”, when demand — and earning opportunities — typically rise.
Swiggy announced similar year-end incentives, offering delivery partners earnings of up to ₹10,000 across December 31 and January 1. Peak-hour payouts of up to ₹2,000 were advertised for the six-hour window on New Year’s Eve, aimed at ensuring adequate rider availability during a high-demand period.
Disruptions reported in multiple cities
Despite the incentives, the strike affected operations of several platforms, including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto, in parts of the country ahead of New Year celebrations. Unions claimed that more than 1.7 lakh app-based workers had confirmed participation by Tuesday night.
The protest follows an earlier strike on December 25, when thousands of workers logged off platforms. In a joint statement, unions said the earlier action was meant as a warning over falling earnings, unsafe delivery pressures and “loss of dignity at work”. They alleged that companies failed to respond with dialogue or concrete safety assurances, making the New Year’s Eve strike “unavoidable”.
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A recurring standoff
The latest standoff underlines the ongoing tension between India’s platform companies and the workers who power their rapid growth. While companies maintain that festive incentives are business-as-usual, unions say short-term payouts do little to address long-term concerns around job security, safety and rights.
As demand peaks during celebrations, the outcome of these protests could shape how platforms balance growth, worker welfare and regulation in the months ahead.
