New Delhi–Zomato removes close to 5,000 gig workers from its platform every month due to fraud-related cases, while another 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh delivery partners exit voluntarily, according to Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Eternal, Zomato’s parent company.
Speaking in a video podcast with YouTuber Raj Shamani, Goyal said a large section of gig workers view platform-based delivery work as temporary employment, which explains the high rate of voluntary attrition. “Many people come in for a short period, earn, and then move on,” he said, referring to workers who leave the platform on their own.
Goyal’s comments come amid growing unrest among gig workers across quick commerce and food delivery platforms. On New Year’s Eve, delivery partners associated with several companies, including Zomato, staged a flash strike to demand higher wages, improved working conditions and better social security coverage.
The issue has also gained policy attention, with the Ministry of Labour and Employment publishing draft rules for the four labour codes, aimed at extending key benefits to gig and platform workers. These include provisions for minimum wages, occupational safety, health coverage and social security.
The government has invited feedback from stakeholders on the draft rules and plans to implement the full set of four labour codes nationwide from April 1. The notification, dated December 30, 2025, was issued just a day before the flash strike by gig and platform workers.
Under the proposed framework, a gig or platform worker must be associated with an aggregator for at least 90 days in a financial year to qualify for social security benefits created by the Centre. For workers engaged with more than one aggregator, the minimum requirement has been set at 120 days.
The draft rules clarify that a worker is considered “engaged” on any calendar day if they earn income for work done for an aggregator, irrespective of the amount earned. If a worker is associated with multiple aggregators, engagement days will be aggregated across platforms. Moreover, if a worker is engaged with three aggregators on the same day, it will be counted as three separate days of engagement.
As debates over job security, pay and benefits intensify, Zomato’s disclosures highlight the scale of churn in India’s gig economy, even as the government moves to formalise protections for millions of platform-based workers. (Source: IANS)
