Swiggy, Zomato hike peak-hour payouts for gig workers:Over 1 lakh delivery agents stage nationwide-strike on 31 Dec, 2025

Media house CNBC reported on Wednesday, 31 December, 2025, that Swiggy and Zomato have hiked peak-hour payouts of the gig workers. Earlier, it was reported that on December 31, platforms like Zomato, Swiggy and Blinkit might face difficulties. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) had called for a strike on New Year’s Eve. The strike had also received support from regional organisations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Union leaders claim that in support of this strike, more than 1 lakh delivery workers will either log out from the app or work minimally. Delivery agents continue to sit on strike: According to the news agency ANI, the gig workers continue to sit on the nationwide strike on Wednesday. There were no reports that the strike had been called off. Karan Taurani, Executive Vice President of Elara Capital, says that since gig workers earn more during these days, many people may choose to work despite the strike. 5 Reasons for Gig Workers’ Strike There isn’t just one reason behind this strike by delivery partners and riders, but rather several long-standing complaints. According to union leaders and experts, these are the main reasons: 1. Lack of Social Security and Welfare Fund The biggest demand of gig workers is social security. Despite government regulations, many states still don’t provide these workers with benefits like pension, health insurance, or PF (Provident Fund). 2. Declining Income and Incentive Cuts Initially companies used to give more incentives to delivery partners. These have now been reduced. Earlier they would get ₹40 to ₹60 per order. Now this has decreased to between ₹15 to ₹25. 3. Poor working conditions and pressure of 10-minute delivery Quick commerce apps like Blinkit, Zepto have pressure to deliver in 10-12 minutes. Workers allege that this has increased their risk of accidents. 4. Arbitrary blocking of IDs A major complaint of gig workers is that companies block their IDs without any prior notice or solid reason. This suddenly takes away their employment. 5. Legal status of gig workers Currently these workers are called company ‘partners’, not ’employees’. Through strikes, demands are being made to recognize them as formal employees. Strike not expected to impact e-commerce companies The strike will have the biggest impact on food delivery and quick commerce apps. E-commerce companies are expected to face minimal impact. In the previous strike on December 25 (Christmas), approximately 40,000 workers participated. This affected about 60% of deliveries in some cities. Why food delivery is more affected? According to analysts, food delivery and quick commerce platforms rely more heavily on local delivery partners. Meanwhile, e-commerce has a stronger backup system for delivery networks. Orders may fall up to 20% in major South Indian cities According to Karan Taurani, the impact of the strike could mainly be seen in metro cities of South India. Order volumes in these cities could see a decline of 10 to 20%. However, looking at the national level, the December 25 and 31 strike is estimated to impact only 0.3% to 0.7% of the total revenue of delivery platforms.