Gig and platform workers to strike on Christmas and New Year’s Eve

Delivery workers from major e-commerce, food delivery, and home service platforms, including Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Urban Company, Amazon, and Flipkart, will observe an all-India strike on Christmas (December 25) and New Year’s Eve (December 31) 2025. A communique from the Karnataka App-based Workers Union noted that the strike has been called “to protest the worsening working conditions in the gig and platform economy and the continued denial of fair wages, safety, dignity, and social security to platform-based gig workers”. ‘Withdraw 10-minute service’ Some of the key demands of the workers include immediate withdrawal “10-minute service” models that endanger workers’ lives, fair and better pay through transparent wage structures and incentives, mandatory rest breaks and reasonable working hours, and end to arbitrary ID blocking and penalties without due process. The other demands include improved safety measures, consistent work allocation without algorithmic discrimination, stronger app and technical support, including grievance redressal for routing and payment failures, job security and social security, including health insurance, accident coverage, and pension benefits, and respect and dignity at work. ‘Blackmailed for joining unions’ The workers urged both the Central and State governments to immediately regulate platform companies, enforce labour protections, implement social security frameworks for gig and platform workers, and recognise the right of gig workers to organise and collectively bargain. “While the government has introduced The Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, the implementation has not been effective yet. The 10-minute delivery model continues to put the workers’ lives at great risk,” Mohammad Inayat Ali, national vice president of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), told The Hindu . He added that companies are blackmailing workers who wished to join unions. “Delivery workers are being pushed to the breaking point by unsafe work models, falling incomes, and total absence of social protection. This strike is a collective call for justice, dignity, and accountability. The government can no longer remain a silent spectator while platform companies profit at the cost of workers’ lives,” he added. Published - December 24, 2025 10:23 pm IST

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