Gig Worker Rights

Through 2026 iFood progressively rolled out '+Entregas', a scheduled-shift pay model paying roughly R$3.10-3.50 per delivery versus the R$7.50 minimum of the standard model - a cut couriers put at more than 50% per delivery. iFood says adherence is optional and that participating couriers earn more per hour logged; couriers report pressure to join, fewer orders for those who refuse, and mandatory quotas enforced by threat of blocking. Protests and stoppages hit Rio de Janeiro in April 2026 and Florianopolis and Uberaba around August 1, 2026, continuing grievances from the 2025 national app-workers' strike. Worker groups demand a R$10 minimum per delivery and withdrawal of the model.

Effective July 1, 2026, Gojek (owned by GoTo) reduced commissions charged to Indonesian motorcycle-taxi ('ojol') drivers from 20% to 8%, matching Grab's move, following sustained pressure from President Prabowo Subianto and a new presidential regulation (No. 27/2026) on online transport worker protections. Within days, thousands of drivers and students protested at Monas and the House of Representatives, saying GoTo had simultaneously lowered base per-trip tariffs, leaving net take-home pay largely unchanged despite the lower commission rate. Drivers, through the Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI), separately demanded the government reclassify them as employees rather than the 'micro-entrepreneurs' status the Ministry of MSMEs proposed. The underlying presidential regulation had not been published in the official state gazette as of mid-July 2026, creating legal uncertainty about enforcement.

Effective July 1, 2026, Grab reduced commissions charged to Indonesian motorcycle-taxi ('ojol') drivers from 20% to 8%, following sustained pressure from President Prabowo Subianto and a new presidential regulation (No. 27/2026) on online transport worker protections. Within days, thousands of drivers and students protested at Monas and the House of Representatives, saying Grab had simultaneously lowered base per-trip tariffs, leaving net take-home pay largely unchanged despite the lower commission rate. Drivers, through the Indonesian Transport Workers Union (SPAI), separately demanded the government reclassify them as employees rather than the 'micro-entrepreneurs' status the Ministry of MSMEs proposed, and called for ratification of ILO Convention 193 on platform workers. The underlying presidential regulation had not been published in the official state gazette as of mid-July 2026, creating legal uncertainty about enforcement.

Swiggy, alongside Zomato and Zepto, moved the Karnataka High Court in June 2026 to challenge the constitutional validity of the state's gig workers welfare law, which would require aggregator platforms to contribute to a worker welfare fund and extend social-security protections. The legal challenge came amid broader industry resistance to gig-worker protections, including a separate central rule requiring 90 days of platform work before workers qualify for social security benefits.

Zomato, alongside Swiggy and Zepto, moved the Karnataka High Court in June 2026 to challenge the constitutional validity of the state's gig workers welfare law, which would require aggregator platforms to contribute to a worker welfare fund and extend social-security protections. The legal challenge came amid broader industry resistance to gig-worker protections, including a separate central rule requiring 90 days of platform work before workers qualify for social security benefits.

Zepto, alongside Swiggy and Zomato, moved the Karnataka High Court in June 2026 to challenge the constitutional validity of the state's gig workers welfare law, which would require aggregator platforms to contribute to a worker welfare fund and extend social-security protections. Zepto's own IPO filing separately disclosed a pending labour-related criminal complaint over wage violations dating to September 2024. The legal challenge came amid broader industry resistance to gig-worker protections.

Under Mexico's 2024 platform-worker labor reform reclassifying app-based workers as employees, companies faced their first annual profit-sharing (PTU) distribution deadline in 2026. DiDi refused to distribute payments, stating that 'the companies in charge of complying with labor obligations have not yet completed their first year of operation.' Workers held a nationwide two-hour work stoppage on May 15, 2026 protesting unfair rates and the profit-sharing refusal across Uber, DiDi and (initially) Rappi platforms, demanding a collective labor agreement.

Under Mexico's 2024 platform-worker labor reform (which reclassified app-based delivery/ride workers as employees with statutory rights), companies faced their first annual profit-sharing (PTU - participación de los trabajadores en las utilidades) distribution deadline in 2026. Rappi distributed the mandatory payments to qualifying workers, while Uber and DiDi did not (see related incidents). President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly credited the reform for delivering 'the first time app workers received profit sharing,' though only Rappi actually complied among the three major platforms.

Under Mexico's 2024 platform-worker labor reform reclassifying app-based workers as employees, companies faced their first annual profit-sharing (PTU) distribution deadline in 2026. Uber refused to distribute payments, arguing it had formed a new corporate entity to comply with the labor reform and was therefore exempt from first-year profit-sharing obligations, despite having operated in Mexico for over a decade. Union leader Sergio Guerrero (UNTA - National Union of Application Workers) publicly disputed the exemption claim. Workers held a nationwide two-hour work stoppage on May 15, 2026 protesting unfair rates, wage suppression that keeps drivers below benefit-eligibility income thresholds, and the profit-sharing refusal, demanding a collective labor agreement.

On April 21, 2026, Rideshare Drivers United (~20,000 members) filed lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court alleging Uber violated California's Proposition 22 by failing to provide adequate appeals for driver deactivations. Named drivers include Devins Baker (8-year driver, deactivated for hard braking to avoid a pedestrian, received only 'copy and paste responses') and Mirwais Noory (father of four, forced to relocate family after deactivation). Documented problems include bot-based initial contact, offshore call centers working from scripts, no transparency about which passenger complained, and decisions appearing predetermined.

Following new anti-fraud controls implemented March 17, 2026, Rappi blocked more than 2,300 delivery-worker accounts in Colombia by April 20-21, 2026, citing use of multiple accounts by the same person, financial-information inconsistencies, identity fraud, and rented/shared account profiles. Delivery workers protested at multiple points in Bogotá, including outside a Rappi office, saying the blocks were unjustified and violated their right to work, and objected in particular to device-based blocking rules despite Rappi not providing the phones. The Union of Platform Workers (UNIDAPP), whose broader negotiations with Rappi over labor conditions had stalled, filed a request for a mandatory arbitration tribunal with Colombia's Ministry of Labor. Rappi said the blocks affected a small fraction of the roughly 70,000 delivery workers who use the platform and did not represent workers acting appropriately.

An April 2026 report by labor rights group Equidem, based on 108 interviews with migrant food-delivery riders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE (from Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan), found indicators of forced labor in 42% of cases across platforms including Careem (Uber), Talabat and HungerStation (Delivery Hero). Nearly all riders (99%) were hired through third-party logistics firms (3PLs) rather than directly by the platforms, and were bound to those same firms under Saudi Arabia's kafala sponsorship system, unable to change employer without consent and fearing retaliation, detention or deportation if they spoke out. The report documented wage theft, unpaid multi-month waiting periods before assignment, and injured riders receiving no medical coverage. It specifically flagged governance gaps at Careem: the company has no standalone human rights policy, and neither its Code of Conduct nor its Third-Party Code of Conduct explicitly protects freedom of association or collective bargaining. The report concluded that multinational platforms 'centralise control over food delivery markets while evading responsibility for the working conditions of riders hired through 3PLs.'

An April 2026 report by labor rights group Equidem ('Free to Be Exploited'), based on 108 interviews with migrant food-delivery riders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE (from Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan), found indicators of forced labor in 42% of cases across platforms including Talabat, Careem (Uber) and HungerStation (Delivery Hero). Riders working under the Talabat brand reported passport confiscation (45% of interviewees), recruitment-fee charging despite laws prohibiting it (70%), unfair contracting (25%), wage deductions for missed performance targets of 400-450 deliveries/month, no guaranteed salaries or overtime pay, and debt taken on to cover visa/ticket/license costs (51%). Nearly all riders were hired through third-party logistics firms (3PLs) rather than directly by Talabat, and were bound to those firms under the kafala sponsorship system, unable to change employer without consent and fearing retaliation, detention or deportation if they organized or complained. Talabat said it does not directly control rider payroll and pointed to a 'Salary Ombudsman Initiative' relying on rider self-reporting and escalation to 3PL partners; Equidem assessed this as insufficient to address systemic issues.

A Milan preliminary investigations judge (GIP) upheld a prosecutor's request to place Deliveroo's Italian subsidiary under judicial administration, finding that roughly 20,000 riders were paid around €3-4 per delivery (about €1,000/month) while working 10-17 hours a day, seven days a week - wages prosecutors said left riders up to 90% below the poverty line and violated the Italian Constitution's guarantee of a dignified wage. A judicial administrator was appointed to regularize riders' status. Deliveroo said it believes its operations are fully compliant with Italian law. The order followed a similar action against Glovo's Italian unit Foodinho weeks earlier.

On December 25, 2024 and New Year's Eve 2025, over 200,000 delivery workers from Zomato, Swiggy, and Amazon struck across India, organized by IFAT. Workers demanded fair pay, an end to 10-minute delivery targets, and social security. A Hyderabad driver making 5 rupees (<10 cents) per order base rate works 7pm-5am daily. CEO Deepinder Goyal claimed deliveries were 'unaffected' but unions responded workers 'cannot afford to log out.'

New Jersey Department of Labor audit found Lyft improperly classified more than 100,000 drivers as independent contractors from 2014 to 2017, depriving them of unemployment insurance, family leave, and disability benefits. Settlement includes $10.8 million for unpaid unemployment, family leave, and disability taxes, plus $8.5 million in penalties and interest. Lyft initially contested findings in 2022, case shifted to Office of Administrative Law. In August 2025, days before first hearing date, Lyft withdrew request for hearing and paid remaining balance. Lyft spokesperson stated 'While we disagree with the NJDOL's findings, we will not be pursuing further challenges to the assessment.'

Through 2025 and into 2026, DoorDash ran a large, coordinated lobbying campaign (often alongside Uber and Lyft) to pass 'portable benefits' legislation in more than a dozen US states plus federal bills (Sen. Bill Cassidy's Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act; Rep. Kevin Kiley's House companion). The laws let gig companies contribute a small percentage of driver earnings (DoorDash used roughly 4%) to portable accounts while explicitly codifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, avoiding minimum wage, workers' compensation, and unemployment insurance obligations. DoorDash was the top lobbying spender in Wisconsin for all of 2025 (nearly $2M in the first half, ~$2.2M for the year) pushing a bill that Democratic Governor Tony Evers vetoed in August 2025, citing the absence of guaranteed worker benefits. Laws passed or advanced in Alabama, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, Kansas, and Wyoming, with bills pending in Florida, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Pilot programs in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Maryland showed limited real-world benefit: a Georgia pilot covering 5,500 drivers produced an average account balance of just $163 after six months, used mostly for emergency savings rather than health care or retirement. DoorDash also organized driver/merchant lobbying days ('DashRoots') in Washington DC to advocate for the framework.

Between July 2024 and July 2025, hourly pay for Uber and Lyft drivers fell sharply in cities where Waymo operates: 6.9% in San Francisco and 5.3% in Austin. With Waymo providing 450,000 paid rides per week by December 2025 and targeting 1 million weekly by end of 2026, organized labor groups including the Teamsters, San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance, and Rideshare Drivers United have mobilized opposition. San Francisco taxi drivers holding medallions purchased since 2010 have sought debt relief assistance. Multiple cities including San Diego, Minneapolis, and Boston have seen formal opposition from councils and labor coalitions.

In May 2025, thousands of Grab drivers in Indonesia staged a 24-hour strike, shutting down services nationwide. Drivers demanded platform commission fees be reduced from 20% to 10%, clearer holiday pay rules, and better safety nets. Raden Igun Wicaksono, chairman of the driver's union Garda Indonesia, stated 'Many of our friends got into accidents on the road, died on the road because they have to chase their income.' Grab's stock price dropped 6.2% in June following the strike. The action demonstrated growing driver discontent with income pressure forcing unsafe working conditions.

NY Attorney General Letitia James announced a $16.75 million settlement with DoorDash for misleading consumers and delivery workers by using tips intended for Dashers to subsidize their guaranteed pay. Between May 2017 and September 2019, DoorDash used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers. Approximately 63,000 New York delivery workers benefited from this settlement.