Protests by gig workers finally yield results post labour minister’s intervention.

The Telengana Gig & Platform Worker’s Union(TGPWU) praised the labour ministry’s decision;terms it as a “timely intervention”

Sagnik Bhaduri,West Bengal,Kolkata

Post an intervention by the Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya,delivery platforms like Swiggy,Blinkit,Zomato and Zepto have been reported to scrap off the 10-minute delivery system.

The gig workers,on December 31,2025,had built a parallel system and assembly body by body against the curtailment and breathlessness imposed by the neoliberal ersatz economy.In the absence of any government,the gig workers marched for social justice,labour dignity and safe working conditions,against the precarious social conditions and demanded that the “10-minutes”delivery system be repealed citing the surge in accidents and health issues.Quite profoundly,Judith Butler had described the body being utilised as a barricade to transfrom political discourse from the zones of confinement or the reality of non possumus i.e. the inability to return anymore and thus,resist authoritarianism.Butler ,in the seminal work “Notes towards a Performative Theory of Assembly”,writes that when bodies assemble on the streets,they open time and space ‘outside and against the established architecture and temporality of the regime they are against’.

In an article published by The Hindu,the Ministry sources had stated that Blinkit had removed the 10-minute delivery mandate and that other apps are expected to abide by the same rules.Although,Blinkit had informed that it had re-worded the company tagline from “10,000+ products delivered in 10 minutes” to “30,000+ products delivered at your doorstep.”

According to the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers(IFAT) and the Telengana Gig & Platform Workers’ Union(TGPWU),the move made by the labour ministry is a “timely intervention”.

“This is a significant and much-needed step in protecting the lives and dignity of gig and platform workers,”said Shaik Salauddin, founder president of TGPWU and national general secretary of IFAT. Furthermore,he added,“The ten-minute delivery model forced delivery partners into dangerous road behaviour, extreme stress, and unsafe working conditions. We welcome and thank Union Labour Minister Shri Mansukh Mandaviya for listening to workers’ voices and intervening decisively in the interest of their safety.”