On the first morning of a new year, a dispute that has been simmering across India's delivery economy surfaced again in Telangana, where a gig workers' union answered the boast of a famous food-delivery founder. The founder saw record orders as proof that a strike had passed without effect; the union saw the same crowded app screens as a sign of people with nowhere else to go. Both readings rest on the same fact, which is that many workers keep logging in, and what that fact means depends on whether one counts the work as a choice or as a necessity. The question underneath, of how much dignity
Gig Workers' Union Rejects Zomato Founder's New Year's Eve Claims, Says Workers Lack Alternatives
Workers cannot log out because of the absence of alternatives
Mark
Why does a record order day become a political argument at all?
Mimi
Because Goyal used it as proof. His reasoning was that an unfair system wouldn't keep attracting and retaining so many workers. The union turned that around.
Mark
How did they turn it around?
Mimi
They said people stay logged in because they lack alternatives, not because the system is just. Same fact, opposite reading.
Luke
Worth saying that the reporting can't settle which reading is right. The order numbers are the companies' own statements, and the participation figures are the union's own.
Mark
What are the participation figures?
Mimi
GIPSWU claimed over one lakh workers from 22 cities joined the strike, about 14,000 of them its own members.
Luke
That's a union claim, and the platforms say operations were largely unaffected. Nothing here independently verifies either side.
Mark
And the intimidation and miscreants language?
Mimi
Goyal said workers showed up despite intimidation and that police kept a small number of miscreants in check. The union says platforms used money and muscle power and rejects the miscreant label.
Luke
Those are competing accusations, and the source doesn't give evidence for either. We also don't know how many workers actually logged off.
Mark
Where does Sanjiv Kapoor fit?
Mimi
He shifts the question from the strike to the product, asking whether 10-minute delivery is needed outside medical emergencies.
Der Puls
- Record New Year's Eve orders at Zomato and Blinkit were announced just as a gig worker strike call was meant to halt them.
- The founder credited police with containing a "small number of miscreants" while thanking riders who "showed up despite intimidation."
- The Telangana union fired back that workers stay logged in only because they have no alternatives, and accused platforms of using "money and muscle power."
- Unions claim over a lakh workers from 22 cities joined the strike, while platforms insist operations were largely unaffected and incentives were raised.
- An outside voice questioned whether 10-minute delivery is needed at all, leaving the dispute open on speed, pay, and what happens next.
On the first morning of a new year, a dispute that has been simmering across India's delivery economy surfaced again in Telangana, where a gig workers' union answered the boast of a famous food-delivery founder. The founder saw record orders as proof that a strike had passed without effect; the union saw the same crowded app screens as a sign of people with nowhere else to go. Both readings rest on the same fact, which is that many workers keep logging in, and what that fact means depends on whether one counts the work as a choice or as a necessity. The question underneath, of how much dignity a fast delivery can carry, has been quietly waiting for an answer.
On the first day of the new year, a gig workers' union in Telangana pushed back against a claim made by Deepinder Goyal, the founder of Zomato. In a post on X, Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit had run at record pace on December 31, unaffected by calls for strikes. He credited local police with keeping a small number of miscreants in check, and thanked delivery partners who showed up despite intimidation. He also argued that an unfair system would not keep so many workers signed in.
The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union answered that last point most directly. Workers, it said, cannot log out because they have no viable alternatives, not because the system is just. The union framed the matter as a question of the dignity of labour rather than the number of orders delivered. It also accused platforms of using money and muscle power to defeat the strike, and rejected the label of miscreants for those who protested.
The two sides describe the strike differently. A rival union claimed more than one lakh workers from 22 cities took part, including around 14,000 of its own members in Delhi and Mumbai. The platforms said operations were largely unaffected, and Swiggy and magicpin reported surges too. Earlier, Zomato and Swiggy had offered higher incentives as the strike threat grew.
The debate drew in an outside voice as well. Sanjiv Kapoor, a former Jet Airways CEO, asked whether 10-minute delivery is really needed in congested cities, suggesting that slower delivery might not be the end of the world. The day's numbers point in opposite directions. What to watch is whether more strikes follow, and whether companies respond to workers' demands beyond incentives.
On the first day of the new year, a gig workers' union in Telangana answered a public claim made by one of India's best-known food delivery founders. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union (TGPWU) said that record order numbers on New Year's Eve do not show that workers are being treated justly or with dignity.
The claim it was answering came from Deepinder Goyal, the founder of Zomato. In a post on X, Goyal said Zomato and Blinkit had run at a record pace on December 31, "unaffected by calls for strikes." He credited local law enforcement with keeping a "small number of miscreants" in check, and he thanked delivery partners who "showed up despite intimidation." He also argued that a system that was unfair would not keep drawing and holding so many workers.
The union rejected that last point most directly. In its account, workers did not stay logged in because the system treats them fairly. They stayed because they have no viable employment alternatives. "Workers cannot log out because of the absence of alternatives, not because the system is just," the union said. It framed the dispute as a question about the dignity of labour, not about how many orders were delivered.
The union also accused the platforms of using "money and muscle power" to try to defeat the strike. It disputed the description of protesting workers as miscreants.
The two sides have offered different pictures of the strike itself. The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) had earlier claimed that more than one lakh gig workers from 22 cities took part. Around 14,000 of those, it said, were its own members in major cities including Delhi and Mumbai. The platforms said operations were largely unaffected. Swiggy and magicpin, like Zomato, reported a surge in orders on New Year's Eve, and magicpin founder and CEO Anshoo Sharma said the company saw "no impact" from the strike call. Earlier coverage also noted that Zomato and Swiggy had offered higher incentives as the nationwide strike threat loomed.
The exchange has sharpened an already tense confrontation between gig worker unions and the companies that rely on them.
The debate also drew in someone from outside the dispute. Sanjiv Kapoor, a former CEO of Jet Airways, questioned the need for 10-minute delivery in India's congested cities. Addressing Goyal on X, he asked whether such speed is really needed in chaotic urban conditions except for medical emergencies, and whether a 30-minute or one-hour delivery, with less pressure and less need for speed, would be "the end of the world."
The two sides are using the same day to argue opposite things. The platforms point to record orders as evidence the strike made little difference. The unions say high participation in the workforce says nothing about whether the work is fair. What to watch next is whether further strikes are called, and whether the companies respond to the workers' demands beyond incentives.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Workers cannot log out because of the absence of alternatives, not because the system is just.— Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union
Do we really need 10 minute deliveries in our chaotic urban conditions unless for medical emergencies?— Sanjiv Kapoor, former Jet Airways CEO
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Politics & Governance