Attention Mumbaikars! Zomato, Swiggy & Other Gig Workers’ New Year’s Eve Strike May Disrupt Food, Grocery Deliveries; Check Key Demands

Mumbai: Last-minute party preparations, food orders and grocery purchases through online platforms may face disruptions across Mumbai on New Year’s Eve, as gig and delivery workers have called for a nationwide strike on December 31, with visible participation in several parts of the city.

New Year’s Eve is among the busiest days for food delivery, quick commerce and e-commerce services, and the protest is expected to impact platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart. Union leaders said services in Mumbai could be hit as delivery executives log off apps or sharply reduce their workload during peak hours.

Visuals from Marine Lines and Colaba on Tuesday showed delivery workers gathering in support of the strike. Supaar Khan, a delivery executive in Mumbai, said falling payouts and lack of basic facilities forced workers to protest. “We get around Rs 25 for a 3 km ride. We work in rain and difficult conditions, but there are no facilities or protections. On days like New Year’s Eve, companies earn a lot. If all riders come together today, they might listen to us,” he said.

Why Are Gig Workers Protesting?

The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from worker groups in Maharashtra, including Mumbai. Unions allege that delivery partners are being pushed to work longer hours even as earnings decline, while facing unsafe delivery targets, lack of job security and arbitrary account deactivations.

In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, IFAT said it represents around four lakh app-based transport and delivery workers across the country. The federation noted that a flash strike held on December 25 led to major service disruptions in multiple cities, including parts of Mumbai.

Union leaders claimed that after the earlier protest, platform companies did not engage with workers and instead responded with threats, account suspensions and algorithm-based penalties. They also alleged the use of third-party agencies to discourage participation in collective action.

With the December 31 strike, Mumbai residents may experience delays and cancellations in food deliveries, grocery orders and last-minute shopping, particularly during evening and night hours.

The federation has urged the government to regulate platform companies under labour laws, ban unsafe fast-delivery models, ensure fair and transparent wage systems, and provide social security benefits such as health cover, accident insurance and pensions. It has also called for immediate government intervention and tripartite talks involving the Centre, platform companies and worker unions.

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