How Zomato and Swiggy Broke the New Year’s Eve Strike

In a high-stakes standoff on the busiest night of the year, India’s food delivery and quick-commerce giants, including Zomato, Swiggy, and Zepto, rolled out unprecedented financial incentives to counter a nationwide strike call.

While gig worker unions—led by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT)—urged hundreds of thousands to log off on December 31, 2025, the platforms successfully maintained service continuity by dangling massive festive payouts.

The Incentive War: ₹10,000 Up for Grabs

To ensure a steady supply of riders during the peak window of 6 PM to midnight, platforms deviated from their standard pay structures to offer “hyper-incentives.”

• Zomato & Blinkit: Offered delivery partners between ₹120 and ₹150 per order during peak hours, significantly higher than the usual ₹15–₹25. The company also waived all penalties for order cancellations and promised total daily earnings of up to ₹3,000.
• Swiggy: Advertised a staggering payout of up to ₹10,000 for workers active across December 31 and January 1. For the New Year’s Eve shift alone, riders were promised up to ₹2,000 in peak-hour earnings.
• Quick-Commerce: Zepto added an extra ₹25–₹35 incentive per order depending on the time of delivery, while BigBasket’s “last-mile” head confirmed that 80% of their workforce had pre-booked slots in anticipation of the festive bonuses.

Why the Strike? Unions Demand Structural Change

Despite the high one-day earnings, union leaders like Shaik Salauddin of TGPWU argue that these bonuses are a “temporary mask” for systemic issues.

The unions mobilized after a smaller “warning strike” on December 25 (Christmas Day) failed to trigger a dialogue with the aggregators.

Their core demands include:

1. Reinstating Old Pay Structures: Removal of the “per-minute” delivery pressure and arbitrary payout cuts.
2. Ending the 10-Minute Model: Unions claim the “extreme fast-delivery” timelines lead to life-threatening accidents and mental stress.
3. Social Security: Implementation of insurance, pensions, and provident fund benefits for the estimated 12.7 million gig workers in India.
4. Transparency: An end to arbitrary ID blocking and a clear mechanism for workers to challenge terminations.

Record Orders vs. Mixed Strike Impact

By the morning of January 1, 2026, Zomato Founder Deepinder Goyal reported a record-breaking 7.5 million orders delivered, asserting that the strike had “minimal impact.”

However, GIPSWU (Gig & Platform Service Workers Union) claimed that over 1 lakh workers in 22 cities participated in the boycott.

While services in major metros remained functional, many customers reported localized delays and surge pricing, as restaurants in cities like Mumbai and Delhi bypassed apps to use in-house staff for nearby deliveries.

The event has reignited the national debate over whether India’s gig economy can continue to rely on “standard festive protocols” to address deep-seated labor unrest.

Note: We are also on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and YouTube to get the latest news updates. Subscribe to our Channels. WhatsApp– Click Here, YouTube – Click Here, and LinkedIn– Click Here.