₹150 per order, penalty waivers: Zomato, Swiggy hike rider incentives amid nationwide gig worker strike

Food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato are offering higher incentives for delivery workers during peak hours and year-end days amid an ongoing nationwide strike by gig and platform workers.

Zomato has offered delivery partners payouts of ₹120–150 per order during peak hours between 6 pm and 12 am, PTI reported on Wednesday.

The platform is reportedly promising earnings of up to ₹3,000 over the course of the day, subject to order volumes and availability.

The company has also temporarily waived penalties on order denials and cancellations, the report said.

"This is part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods, which typically see higher earning opportunities due to increased demand," PTI quoted an Eternal spokesperson as saying.

Swiggy has also stepped up incentives over the year-end period, offering delivery workers earnings of up to ₹10,000 across December 31 and January 1.

On New Year’s Eve, the platform is advertising peak-hour earnings of up to ₹2,000 between 6 pm and midnight to ensure rider availability during one of the busiest ordering windows of the year.

Major e-commerce and food delivery platforms faced disruptions on December 25 as gig workers staged a strike over what they described as worsening work conditions and reduced commissions. Workers associated with platforms including Swiggy, Zepto, Blinkit, Zomato, Amazon and Flipkart have planned a nationwide strike on New Year’s Eve.

Delivery workers allege they face long working hours, falling earnings, unsafe delivery targets, arbitrary suspension of work IDs and a lack of basic welfare protections. They are demanding higher and more transparent pay structures, an end to ultra-fast delivery timelines that they say endanger lives, the removal of penalties imposed without due process, and access to safety gear, insurance, health coverage and pensions.

“Despite being the backbone of last-mile delivery, delivery workers are forced to endure long working hours in the absence of basic welfare protections,” the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union said in a statement.

Shaik Salauddin, founder president of the union and national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, said workers were being “pushed to breaking point by unsafe work models, falling incomes and the absence of social protection,” and called on governments to regulate platform companies and enforce labour protections for gig workers.

In a joint statement, TGPWU and IFAT said, "As of last night, over 1.7 lakh delivery and app-based workers across India have confirmed participation, with numbers expected to rise further by evening."