BENGALURU: With app-based delivery gig workers planning a nationwide strike on December 31, e-commerce services, particularly the promise of “10-minute deliveries” and instant availability of essentials are likely to be hit in Bengaluru on New Year’s Eve. Protesters have termed the action a “digital protest in a digitised world,” aimed at disrupting peak-hour deliveries without street demonstrations.
According to gig workers’ unions, the flash strike held on December 25 exposed deep-rooted problems within India’s gig economy. Nearly 40,000 delivery workers participated across the country, resulting in an estimated 50 to 60% disruption of services in several cities. Union leaders alleged that instead of addressing workers’ concerns, platform companies responded by blocking delivery IDs, issuing threats, involving the police, and imposing what they described as “algorithmic punishments”.
Shaik Salauddin, co-founder and national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), said delivery workers were being subjected to unsafe work conditions and arbitrary penalties. “Workers are not slaves of algorithms. We will not accept unsafe 10-minute delivery models, arbitrary ID blocking or denial of dignity and social security,” he said, warning that continued repression would only intensify resistance.
Explaining the nature of protest he said, “This is not a conventional street protest. Our strike is a digital and flash strike. During peak delivery hours, when platforms depend most on workers, we are simply rejecting orders. That itself is our protest.”
“These companies use digital power to run their business. Why shouldn’t workers also use the same digital tools to protest? Instead of slogans and gatherings, we are opting for invisible digital strikes,” he added.
In a letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, IFAT sought urgent government intervention, stating that falling incomes, unsafe delivery targets, police harassment and lack of social security had pushed workers to the brink.