NEW DELHI: App-based transport workers across India observed an All-India Breakdown on February 7 after unions representing gig drivers and delivery workers called for a nationwide shutdown to protest falling incomes, rising costs and what they described as increasing exploitation by platform companies.The protest was called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, and involved drivers and delivery workers associated with major platforms such as Ola, Uber, Rapido, Porter and other app-based transport services. Unions said the agitation was aimed at pressing the Centre and state governments to implement minimum base fares under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025.According to the unions, the failure to notify base fares has allowed aggregator companies to continue fixing prices unilaterally, forcing workers to put in longer hours for declining earnings and bear operational risks without protection.Shaik Salauddin, founder president of TGPWU and co-founder and national general secretary of IFAT, said the lack of government action had worsened working conditions for gig workers. “The Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, clearly mandate consultation with recognised worker unions before fare fixation. However, governments have failed to act, enabling platforms to deepen exploitation,” Salauddin said.The shutdown coincided with a day-long nationwide strike by app-based taxi and autorickshaw drivers called by the Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha to press demands including action against what they termed illegal bike taxi services and grievances related to mandatory panic button installations.In a statement, the union said drivers were facing a financial burden due to repeated changes in panic button approvals.“While there are 140 panic button device providers approved by the Central government, the state government has declared nearly 70 per cent of these companies unauthorised. As a result, cab drivers are being forced to remove previously installed devices and spend approximately Rs 12,000 unnecessarily to install new devices, causing severe financial hardship,” the statement said.Speaking to PTI, Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha head Dr Keshav Kshirsagar said the strike began across Maharashtra and other parts of the country in the morning and received support from most autorickshaw and taxi drivers. However, taxis and autorickshaws remained available on app-based platforms such as Uber, Ola and Rapido in several areas despite the call to keep vehicles off the roads.The unions have also flagged concerns over loss of income due to an increase in autorickshaws under the open permit policy and alleged that victims of accidents involving illegal bike taxis are denied insurance benefits.The February 7 protest follows earlier nationwide strikes by gig workers, including a shutdown by platform-based delivery workers on December 31, when unions warned of service disruptions during peak hours over low wages, long working hours and lack of social security.“In today’s time, Swiggy Zomato delivery boys, Blinkit Zepto riders, Ola Uber drivers, are a workforce on the back of which these big companies have become unicorns; they have got billion-dollar valuations. In this entire ecosystem that has been created, if there’s one group of people who are oppressed and under immense pressure, it’s the gig workers,” an AAP MP said in an interview with ANI.Amid the nationwide agitation, a delegation of transport and delivery gig workers met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday to press for central legislation and better implementation of regulations at the state level.Shaik Salauddin said the delegation raised long-standing concerns during the meeting. “This delegation included drivers and delivery workers from the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers. In Congress-ruled states, and even where we serve as the opposition, the election promises made to these workers have been acted upon. At the central level, the government is providing social-security schemes, but that is not a substitute for statutory law,” he said.Salauddin also praised the Karnataka government for enacting legislation for gig workers. “There was a detailed discussion. For about half an hour, the delegation described their problems one by one. We called on Congress governments in states where implementation has stalled to act promptly. We again congratulated Karnataka for being the first state to introduce a comprehensive law,” he added.Union leaders said protests would continue unless governments move to enforce fare regulations and provide statutory protections for gig workers in the app-based transport and delivery sector. Go to Source
