Food delivery, qcom firms raise incentives amid gig workers' strike

Food delivery and quick commerce (qcom) companies, including Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto, increased payouts and rolled out additional incentives for delivery partners on Wednesday (December 31), as New Year’s Eve (NYE) remains one of the busiest days of the year for these platforms.

- UDISHA SRIVASTAV

While the hikes in per-order payouts and incentives are a usual phenomenon during festive periods and peak-demand occasions, the development also comes at a time when several gig worker unions have called for a nationwide strike. Workers are protesting low pay structures, poor working conditions, long working hours, arbitrary deactivation of IDs, and lack of medical facilities, emergency support, and social security.

In a joint statement, Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), and Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) have said: “As of last night, over 170,000 delivery and app-based workers across India have confirmed participation, with numbers expected to rise further by evening.”