Fair wages (schedules or tips) for gig workers in India's economy?

As gig workers protest pay and conditions, platforms, consumers, policymakers must rethink convenience, tipping culture and humane work practices to ensure growth does not come at the cost of dignity

Gig workers are supposed to be free to work anywhere. But what if every direction they turn to is equally exploitative? An editorial in this newspaper on January 2, 2026 pointed out: “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-align their business models.” 

There have been many arguments for and against the gig worker strike. Unfortunately, for the workers, the strike did not really impact the year-end ordering frenzy. A staffing company executive said, “..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 filled. So, we should ask the primary question: Is some (kind of) job better than no job?” 

Where do consumers fit in this debate? Do they also feel that gig workers are being exploited? In Vandana Vasudevan’s book, OTP Please, the picture is very clear. Consumers love quick commerce (qcom) brands and what they offer. A quick snack at 11 pm. A special treat for a surprise guest. The occasions are many. The book also presents the plight of gig workers. Are they happy? Or, as the staffing company expert said, do they view the situation from the prism of “some job is better than no job”? The gig workers the author of this engaging book spoke with were thankful for the job, but felt exploited. They point out that service fees have been steadily brought down over the years. The payment system and incentives are opaque. But the gig workers know that switching to another platform will not make things better. 

Again, where does the consumer or the end user stand 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 up with an engaging ad that presented a man – a delivery partner –  called “Swiggy”. Making the delivery partner part of the discourse is indeed important, especially if they feel this will nudge the consumer to add a generous tip. 

Truth be told, we are not a tipping nation. In the United States, delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats attract average tips at 15 to 20 per cent. This level of tipping has taken years of nudging consumers with options (10 per cent versus 15 per cent versus 20 per cent, and now 25 per cent).  In India, too, platforms are trying to nudge consumers, but tipping here hovers at 5 to 10 per cent. Higher tips are seen during rains, or when the delivery involves climbing lots of stairs. Contrary to expectations, bigger orders attract a lower percentage of tips in India. 

What else can platforms do to ease the pain? In the Winter 2025 issue of MIT Sloan Management Review, I spotted an article that spoke about the importance of scheduling work – for all employees. Interestingly, gig workers mentioned schedule in 44 per cent of the cases, while enterprise software professionals mentioned it 13 per cent of the time. Gig workers felt the most positive about their schedule (84 per cent) versus business consulting executives (27 per cent). This is understandable since gig workers work flexible timings, and schedule is important for them to juggle many jobs. 

The challenge in a low-employment opportunity country like India is that most gig workers work 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 kinder 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 some of these initiatives. Can schedules become more humane (the book OTP Please speaks of how gig workers are terrorised 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 government to desist from the “10-minute delivery guarantee” is a step in the right direction. Perhaps they should also suggest to these qcom players to explicitly encourage consumers to add a tip. 

The qcom and food delivery industry has created 7.7 million jobs, and this is expected to grow to 23.5 million by 2030 (according to former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant). That is an impressive number. The disgruntlement of gig workers/delivery partners 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. In all of this, the delivery partner should not get trampled. 

The writer is an independent brand coach. His latest book, Marketing Mixology, presents four essential ingredients for marketing success