Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative 

India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Flipkart, and BigBasket in several areas.

The women-led national union, GIPSWU, had earlier issued an urgent announcement urging “all gig workers, platform workers, digital platform workers, app-based workers, and online freelancers” to abstain from services on December 31 to make the strike “united and effective.” Union President Seema Singh emphasized that the collective action was “vital to assert our legitimate demands and to secure fair working conditions and social protection for all platform-based workers.”  

On the day of the strike, GIPSWU submitted a detailed memorandum to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, outlining 15 priority demands. The union argued that “Bharat can’t be Viksit until its workers, part of India’s booming economy, continue to be exploited.” The memorandum highlighted systemic exclusion of gig workers from core labour entitlements and constitutional guarantees, citing “pervasive harassment, discrimination, and violence against workers.”  

Among the demands were the discontinuation of 10–20-minute delivery mandates to prioritize worker safety, fixing minimum per-kilometer rates at ₹20+ and ensuring workplace safety for women, granting emergency leave and maternity protection to women service workers, eliminating arbitrary ID blocking and punitive rating systems, guaranteeing minimum monthly earnings of ₹40,000, abolishing peak hours and slot systems, compensating workers for customer-initiated cancellations, and legally recognizing platform workers as “workers” under labour laws rather than “partners.”

The memorandum also demanded the replacement of AI-based customer support with human support, the end of mandatory surveillance practices such as pre- and post-task photo uploads, and restoration of company hubs with safety provisions for women workers.  

In its submission, GIPSWU urged the government to convene tripartite discussions under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, bringing together workers, companies, and the state. “The Union Government is requested to extend full solidarity to the striking workers and address these demands urgently,” the memorandum stated. National Coordinator Nirmal Gorana added that the strike was “a reminder of the platform economy’s dependence on workers’ labour” and warned of “severe implications for India’s growth if these issues remain unaddressed.”  

The strike, which followed GIPSWU’s digital strike in 2024, disrupted services across major cities. Customers reported delays and cancellations, while delivery platforms acknowledged service interruptions. Worker groups in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata staged demonstrations, holding placards that read “No Viksit Bharat Without Workers” and “₹20 Per Kilometer Now.”  

As the strike concluded, GIPSWU reiterated its demand for immediate government intervention. “This escalation underscored the severe implications for India’s growth if these issues remain unaddressed,” the union declared. The memorandum closed with a request for an urgent meeting with the Labour Minister to present a national delegation and elaborate on the workers’ grievances.