Gig Workers Strike On December 31: Potential Impact On New Year Celebrations

Gig Workers Strike: New Year's Eve celebrations in India may face major disruptions as gig workers from Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, Amazon, and Flipkart prepare for a nationwide strike on December 31. As the year's busiest sales day, the strike threatens to derail customer plans and severely impact retailers who rely on last-mile delivery to hit their year-end revenue targets.

Why Are Gig Workers Protesting?

The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), with support from multiple regional collectives across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.

According to the unions, delivery partners, often described as the backbone of India's digital commerce ecosystem, are being pushed to work longer hours for declining earnings, with little safety, dignity and job security.

Impact On New Year's Celebrations

With gig workers on strike, customers may face long delays and cancellations of orders as delivery executives log off the apps or drastically reduce their workload. The disruptions from the strike are expected to impact food orders, grocery deliveries and last-minute shopping of users in major cities such as Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, as well as several tier-2 markets.

Shaik Salauddin, founder-president of TGPWU, told Economic Times that unions are expecting 100,000 and 150,000 riders to join the strike on New Year's Eve.

"The momentum is gaining very quickly. We are expecting a large number of riders to join us. We will conduct flash strikes across different cities. Some people will stop delivering food during lunch and dinner hours. Some will stop working during the peak hours when people order groceries," said Salauddin.

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What Should Customers Do?

Delivery platforms are running promotional offers in the lead up to New Year's Eve, advising customers to stock up on products. With deliveries not guaranteed, it is advisable to purchase the essentials directly from physical stores to avoid any last-minute troubles.

Customers need to be prepared for dynamic or surge pricing in the lead-up to midnight on New Year' eve. Additionally, the delivery times can be stretched from the usual 10-minutes, so do not rely on quick commerce apps for emergency items.