Gig workers are supposed to be free to work anywhere. But what if all the directions they turn to are equally exploitative? The editorial of this paper called out (2 January 2026) ‘The year-end strike by a section of gig and platform workers over remuneration and work conditions presents quick-commerce and food delivery firms with an opportunity to re-allign their business models’.
There have been many who have jumped into the fray, arguing for (and against) the gig worker strike. Unfortunately for the striking gig workers, the strike did not create any big dent in the year end ordering frenzy. A staffing company executive has opined that ‘..in the context of people who do not have high skills but need a job, I think it’s a huge gap that these platforms have fulfilled. So we should ask the primary question, is some job better than no jog’.
Where do consumers fit into this debate? Do they also feel that gig workers are being exploited? In the book ‘OTP Please” by Vandana Vasudevan the picture is very clear. Consumers love the QCom brands and what they offer. A quick snack at 11 pm. A special treat for a surprise guest. The usage occasions are many and consumers are loving it. The book also presents the plight of the gig workers. Are they happy? Or as the staffing company expert opined, are they seeing it as ‘some job better than no job’? Gig workers that the author of this engaging book spoke with were thankful for job but feel exploited. They point out to the fact that service fees have been steadily brought down over the years. Payment system and incentives are opaque. But gig workers know that switching to another platform is not going to make things better.
Again, where is the consumer or the end user in this debate? And what have platforms done to engage with them? It was Zomato that started sharing the gig workers profiles with the end consumer. Swiggy came back with an engaging ad that presented a man, a delivery partner, called Swiggy. Making the delivery boy or should we say ‘delivery partner’ a part of the discourse is indeed important, especially if they feel that this will nudge the consumer to add a generous tip.
Truth be told, we are not a tipping nation. In the US, delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats average tips in the region of 15 to 20%. This level of tipping has happened after years of nudging consumers with options (10% vs 15% vs 20% and now 25%). In India too platforms are trying to nudge consumers but tipping seems to hover around 5 to 10%. The higher limits are hit during rains and long stairs climbs. Contrary to expectations, the bigger orders attract a lower %age tip in India.
What else can platforms do to ease the pain? In a recent issue of MIT Sloan Management Review (Winter 2025) I spotted an article that spoke about the importance of scheduling work, for all employees. Interestingly gig workers mention schedule in 44% of the cases while enterprise software folks only mention it only 13% of the time. Gig workers felt the most positive about their schedule (84%) vs Business consulting executives (27%). This is understandable since gig workers are supposed to be working flexi-time and schedule is important for them, to juggle many jobs may be. The challenge in a low employment opportunity country like India is that most of the gig workers are working full time in gigs. They don’t have any other livelihood.
Should we therefore say that ‘some job is better than no job’ or should we call for stronger legislative moves or should platforms be encouraged to be more kind to their delivery partners? If delivery charges increase will consumers start switching? Or will they cut down on their already paltry tips?
The answer may lie in combining many of these initiatives. Can schedules become more humane (The book ‘OTP Please’ speaks of how gig workers are terrorized by opaque algorithms that even track when and where they are sleeping)? Can there be an industry wide campaign to get consumers to add a generous tip (tipping sahi hai)? The nudge by the Govt. of India to desist from the ’10 minute delivery guarantee’ is a step in the right direction. May be they should also suggest to these QCom players to explicitly nudge consumers to add a tip?
QCom and food delivery industry has created 7.7 million jobs and this is expected to grow to 23.5 million by the year 2030(according to former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant). That is an impressive number. The issue of gig worker / delivery partner disgruntlement needs to be addressed in a compassionate manner, taking into account all sides of the argument. QComs have their financial goals in focus. Consumers want the best deal. We need better traffic discipline on our roads… …and in all this the delivery partner should not get trampled on.
Appeared originally in Business Standard Jan 2026.