Planning to ring in the New Year with a house party and rely on ordering food or essentials online? You might want to have a backup plan. Your celebrations could hit a major snag as delivery partners across India—the backbone of companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Amazon, Zepto, Urban Company, and Flipkart—have called for a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve, December 31.

This isn’t just a minor disruption; it is a full-blown protest by the country’s gig workforce, who are stepping up their fight against what they describe as exploitative working conditions.

Why the Strike? The Fight for Dignity and Fair Pay

The delivery personnel, who brave all weather conditions to bring convenience to our doorsteps, are up in arms. Their grievances are serious: dwindling earnings, snowballing workloads, and a glaring lack of safety nets. Leading this charge is the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), along with powerful state-level unions like the Karnataka App-based Workers Union and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union.

Shaik Salauddin, founder of the Telangana union and National General Secretary of IFAT, issued a strong statement: “This is not just a protest; it is a fight for justice, dignity, and responsibility. How long will the government remain a silent spectator? These companies are making massive profits while playing with our lives!”

The Karnataka union echoed these sentiments, stating the strike is a direct challenge to the grim reality of the gig economy, which they say lacks fair wages, safety, respect, and basic social security.

What Are the Workers Demanding?

The workers have laid out a clear charter of demands that directly affect their lives and livelihoods. Here is a look at what they are fighting for:

1. Scrap the ’10-Minute Delivery’ Rush: Workers are demanding an immediate end to the ultra-fast 10-minute delivery models instituted by some quick-commerce companies. They argue that these impossible deadlines severely compromise the safety of riders and pedestrians alike.
2. Fair and Transparent Wages: They want a fair, transparent wage structure that adequately compensates them for their work, along with better incentives.
3. Fixed Working Hours and Rest: The unions are calling for defined working hours and mandatory rest periods during shifts.
4. Stop Arbitrary Account Blocking: Workers are demanding an end to the sudden and often unexplained blocking of their worker IDs or accounts. They want a proper, transparent process before any such action is taken.
5. Safety Gear and Insurance: The demands include the provision of better safety equipment for riders and adequate insurance coverage in case of accidents.
6. No Algorithmic Bias: They want to ensure that the algorithms used to allocate orders are fair and do not discriminate against any worker.
7. Stronger Grievance Redressal: The in-app systems for workers to lodge complaints need to be made more robust and effective.
8. Social Security: Finally, the workers are demanding basic job security and social benefits like pensions, health insurance, and accident cover.

Impact on Your New Year Plans

New Year’s Eve is undeniably peak business time for online delivery platforms. A nationwide strike on this specific day is bound to cause significant delays and disruptions in the delivery of food, groceries, and other online orders. While this spells a major headache for the companies involved, the workers, having been pushed to the wall, have made it clear: they will no longer endure the status quo and are determined to fight for their rights.