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Thousands of gig workers in India protest on New Year’s Eve, demanding fixed minimum wage and better wages working conditions From the “10 Minute Delivery” app platform.
Delivery workers related to major fast food and delivery platforms, such as Swiggy, ZomatoZepto, Blinkit, Amazon and Flipkart are classified as “partners” by their companies, accepting commission-based payments instead of fixed payments salary.
Workers often complain about falling income, long hours, unsafe delivery targets for the “10-minute delivery” feature on the app, retaliatory ID suspensions, a lack of paid time off and overall poor job security.
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) is asking its members not to operate their apps, through which they get tasks from e-commerce platforms, on one of the busiest days for deliveries.
this strike It is the latest escalation in a deepening standoff between e-commerce platforms and delivery workers in India. gig economy It is expected to employ more than 23 million people by 2029.
Nirmal Gorana, general secretary of GIPSWU, said gig workers face increasing systemic exclusion from core labor rights such as minimum wages, healthy working conditions and social security. Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 40,000 rupees (£332).
“This strike unites gig workers and allies to demand immediate government intervention. We have asked workers associated with our organization not to work tomorrow. We have sought the federal government’s intervention to resolve their issues,” Mr. Gorana quoted telegraph As said.
Gig workers face penalties and are often denied work because of delays in arriving at clients’ homes on time, he said.
At least three major unions have called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday.
Shaik Salauddin, general secretary of the Indian Federation of App Transport Workers (IFAT), said at least 150,000 delivery workers will join the strike, affecting services across the country. he told new indian express In the southern city of Hyderabad, bodyguards moved around vehicles on behalf of Zomato, warning workers not to join the protests.
IFAT launched similar protests on December 25, albeit on a smaller scale, demanding higher wages and comprehensive national policies, which Salauddin said resulted in the disruption of approximately 60% of services in several cities. However, the federation claims companies responded to the Christmas strike by threatening to deactivate gig workers’ accounts.
IFAT said it represents about 400,000 app-based transport and delivery workers across the country.
After the strike announcement, app-based food delivery services Zomato and Swiggy hired Bollywood actors to lure workers with the promise of one-time income for working during the holidays.
Zomato said it would offer delivery partners between 120 rupees (about £1) and 150 rupees (£1.20) per order during the New Year’s Eve peak hours of 6pm to midnight.
The platform also reportedly claims potential earnings of up to 3,000 rupees (£24.8) for the day, although this figure depends on order volume and worker availability. Zomato claims to have temporarily waived penalties for rejected and canceled orders.
“This is part of our standard annual operating agreement during the festive season, which typically brings higher revenue opportunities due to increased demand,” a spokesperson from Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, told news agency PTI.
Swiggy, which operates the Instamart service, has also introduced year-end incentives, with delivery workers earning up to 10,000 rupees (£86) as of January 1.