The Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) on Saturday announced a five-hour nationwide work stoppage, from 12 noon to 5 pm, targeting app-based cab and delivery services, — in response to the Centre’s decision to raise petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre.
Friday’s revision, the first in nearly four years, was driven by rising global crude oil prices amid continuing instability in the Middle East, particularly escalating tensions involving Iran and concerns over disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz.
GIPSWU president Seema Singh said the hike compounds pressure from the recent LPG cylinder price increase, leaving delivery workers with little room to absorb further cost escalation.
The union warned that the fuel price increase, coming on the back of recent LPG cylinder price hikes, would compound financial pressure on workers already operating on thin margins.
“Delivery workers associated with companies such as Swiggy, Zomato and Blinkit will not be able to bear the impact of rising petrol and diesel prices during the ongoing severe heatwave conditions,” she said. Singh demanded a government-mandated minimum service rate of Rs 20 per kilometre and cautioned that without swift intervention, a significant number of workers risk exiting the gig economy altogether.
National coordinator Nirmal Gorana pointed to a widening gap between what platforms pay per trip and what workers spend to complete it. “Among the nearly 600 million workers engaged in the unorganised sector, around 12 million gig and platform workers are among the worst affected because a large number of workers associated with app-based companies are completely dependent upon motorcycles, scooters and other vehicles for earning their livelihood,” he said.
Gorana added that the burden falls disproportionately on women workers and delivery executives logging 10–14-hour shifts in congested urban corridors during peak summer heat.
NITI Aayog pegged India’s gig worker count at roughly 7.7 million in FY21 and projected it would nearly triple to 23 million by FY30. Unions have argued that earnings per worker, and per order payouts, have not kept pace with either the growth in order volumes or the rising cost of staying on the road.