Zomato, Swiggy Roll Out Higher Incentives as Gig Workers Call Nationwide New Year’s Eve Strike

Gig Workers’ Strike Call Prompts Zomato, Swiggy to Offer Peak-Hour Bonuses

New Delhi, Dec 31:Food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy have announced enhanced incentives for their delivery partners on New Year’s Eve, a move aimed at ensuring uninterrupted services amid a nationwide strike call by gig workers’ unions demanding better pay and working conditions.

Industry sources said the platforms have rolled out higher per-order payouts and peak-hour incentives, a practice they routinely follow during festive and high-demand periods. The decision comes as unions representing gig and app-based workers claim that a large number of delivery partners across the country are preparing to log off work on December 31, potentially impacting food delivery and quick commerce operations during one of the busiest nights of the year.

According to people familiar with the development, Zomato has offered delivery partners payouts ranging between ₹120 and ₹150 per order during peak hours from 6 pm to 12 midnight on New Year’s Eve. In addition, delivery partners may earn up to ₹3,000 over the course of the day, depending on order volumes and availability. The company has also temporarily relaxed penalties related to order denials and cancellations to encourage rider participation.

A spokesperson for Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, said the increased earnings opportunity is part of the platform’s standard annual operating protocol during festive and year-end periods, which typically witness a sharp surge in consumer demand.

Swiggy has also introduced enhanced incentives, with delivery partners being offered earnings of up to ₹10,000 spread across December 31 and January 1, sources said. On New Year’s Eve alone, the platform is advertising peak-hour earnings of up to ₹2,000 for the six-hour window between 6 pm and midnight, in an effort to maintain adequate rider availability during the high-demand period.

Meanwhile, gig workers’ unions have reiterated their call for a nationwide strike. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers claimed that more than 1.7 lakh workers had already confirmed participation, with numbers expected to increase as the evening progresses.

Union representatives said the strike follows an earlier protest on December 25, during which thousands of delivery workers across Telangana and other regions went offline to protest declining earnings, unsafe delivery targets and lack of dialogue with platform companies. They alleged that despite the earlier warning, companies failed to engage meaningfully with workers or address concerns related to pay cuts, working hours and safety.

The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union has also appealed to gig workers, app-based workers and online freelancers across India to collectively shut down work-related applications on December 31, calling it a united effort to demand dignity, fair compensation and improved welfare measures.

With New Year’s Eve traditionally seeing a surge in food orders and quick commerce deliveries, industry watchers say the coming hours will test both platform preparedness and the scale of worker participation in the strike.