Zomato, Swiggy offer increased payout to gig workers amid strike call by unions on New Year’s Eve
Food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy are offering further incentives to their delivery partners to ensure minimal disruption to services on New Year’s Eve amid a strike call by gig workers unions, a standard practice they follow during festive periods.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) claimed that hundreds of thousands of workers are set to join the nationwide strike, demanding better pay and improved working conditions.
According to industry sources, the strike could affect the operations of food delivery and fast-paced merchants such as Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto on New Year’s Eve, when demand is at an all-time high.
Zomato offered payment of 120 to 150 Indian rupees per order to its delivery partners during peak hours between 6pm and 12pm on New Year’s Eve. People with knowledge of the development said the platform also promised earnings of up to £3,000 per day, depending on order volumes and employee availability.
Additionally, Zomato has temporarily waived penalties for order rejections and cancellations, but they emphasized that this is a standard operating protocol followed during high-demand festive and year-end periods.
“This is part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods, which typically see higher earning opportunities due to increased demand,” an Eternal spokesperson said. PTI.
Eternal owns the Zomato and Blinkit brands.
Similarly, Swiggy increased incentives during the year-end period and offered earnings of up to ₹10,000 to its delivery workers between December 31 and January 1, according to people aware of the development.
On New Year’s Eve, the platform is advertising peak hour earnings of up to ₹2,000 for the six-hour period between 6pm and 12am to ensure adequate passenger availability during one of the busiest ordering windows of the year, and they said they maintain that increased payouts during such periods are standard practice.
“More than 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers have confirmed attendance across India as of last night, and the numbers are expected to rise further by evening,” TGPWU and IFAT said in a joint statement.
On the other hand, gig workers have announced a nationwide escalating strike on December 31, 2025, following the massive strike on December 25 that led to thousands of delivery workers walking off platforms in Telangana and other regions, people in the know said, according to a joint statement by TGPWU and IFAT.
“The December 25 action sent a clear warning to platform companies about falling profits, pressure for unsafe delivery and loss of reputation in the workplace.
But companies responded with silence; There is no return to reduced payments, no dialogue with workers and no concrete guarantees on safety or working hours. “This continued indifference has made today’s strike inevitable,” he added.
The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union has also announced a nationwide strike on December 31, 2025 to collectively raise demands for the rights, welfare and dignity of gig and platform workers in India.
Calling for action, the organization said, “All gig workers, platform workers, digital platform workers, app-based workers and online freelancers are solemnly requested to join the national strike by closing all work-related applications and refraining from providing services on December 31, 2025, thus making the strike unified and effective.”
It was published – 31 December 2025 13:32 IST
