Metro India News | Hyderabad 

As the city prepares for the New Year, the Telangana Gig Platform Workers’ Union (TGPWU) has taken a social safety step, announcing free rides to help citizens avoid drunken driving during New Year celebrations.  

While this initiative emphasizes the responsibility of gig workers beyond their jobs, it also highlights the increasing crisis they face, as over 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers across India launch a nationwide strike today. 

The strike, called jointly by TGPWU and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), marks a significant escalation following the December 25 log-out protest, which witnessed thousands of workers across Telangana and several other regions protest for higher pay and better work conditions.  

According to the union leaders, more than 1.7 lakh workers had already confirmed participation by last night, with numbers expected to rise further. Workers across food delivery, courier services, and app-based transport platforms are logging out from all major apps, participating in peaceful demonstrations at key locations, and raising collective demands for fair pay, safety, dignity, and government regulation of the gig economy. 

Despite repeated appeals, workers say companies have refused dialogue. There has been no rollback of reduced payouts, no assurance on working hours, and no concrete steps to address safety concerns, even as delivery pressure intensifies. Zomato circulated an internal notification on December 31, claiming delivery partners would not face any trouble during the day and promising earnings of up to Rs, 3,000. Screenshots of the message are circulating widely among workers. 

Union representatives argue that one-day assurances and inflated earning claims cannot compensate for years of declining real income. In addition, celebrity-backed advertisements are being rolled out by platform companies during the festive season. These campaigns, unions say, are designed to distract workers and break collective unity, while ignoring the reality of declining pay and worsening conditions on the ground. 

Workers point to continuous reductions in per-order payouts, the weakening of distance- and time-based compensation, and ever-changing incentive structures that make earnings unpredictable. They also highlight the dangers of 10-minute delivery models, which create extreme time pressure, leading to accidents, injuries, and severe mental stress.