Gig workers across the country, mostly women who offer spa services and domestic work, switched their apps for the day on Monday, to mark their protests against unfair policies, lack of safety, and the looming threat of IDs being blocked.
The nationwide protest was called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers’ Union (GIPSWU), which is a women-led outfit.
Seema Singh, national president of the union and formerly a gig worker with Urban Company, said that workers’ issues range from unfair rating systems to income security.
“Women workers face additional vulnerabilities related to safety, dignity, and legal protection. In many cases, when women workers demand fair payment, situations escalate into scuffles and physical assaults,” she said in a statement.
The union demanded the provision of a ‘red button’, a feature in apps for medical emergencies and menstrual leaves, along with immediate prohibition of arbitrary ID blocking and unfair rating systems.
According to the union, around 35,000 workers nationwide switched off their apps. One Delhi-based worker who did not use her Urban Company (UC) app on Monday, said, “There are multiple issues that we face such as the looming threat of IDs being blocked.”
ID blocking, threats
Workers risk having their IDs blocked if they have more than three strikes, which results from cancellation, not taking up work during scheduled ‘peak hours’, or taking up work offline. The union added that workers are threatened if they participate in protests.
Earlier in the month, UC workers submitted a set of memorandum to the management in Jaipur demanding that the ‘peak hour’ system should be abolished, and stringent cancellation restrictions be removed and ‘bundle booking system’, where customers are given discounts for multiple bookings, which workers say are cut from their earnings be scrapped.
The union also wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to end the ID blocking and bundle booking systems on January 12.
The union said that the strike on Republic Day was online, whereas street protests will follow across the country on February 3.
Urban Company has not responded to questions for a comment.
Published – January 26, 2026 10:19 pm IST
