Gig Worker Rights

In September 2026, Grab drivers in Vietnam organized a two-day coordinated app shutdown/boycott protesting falling earnings, calling for a review of commission rates. The action followed a similar pattern in Indonesia where Grab had cut commissions for two-wheeled drivers from 20% to 8% in July 2026 after months of driver pressure. Vietnamese authorities noted the boycott's actual operational impact was limited, and police fined at least one social media account for spreading false claims that Grab was fully paralyzed. Vietnam's Labour Code does not recognize app shutdowns by classified independent contractors as legal strikes, highlighting a regulatory gap in platform worker protections.

Hyundai Motor declined a March 10, 2026 request from ten subcontractor unions representing roughly 1,675 logistics, security, cleaning, cafeteria, and vehicle-sales workers at its Ulsan, Asan, and Jeonju plants to bargain directly under South Korea's amended 'Yellow Envelope' Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, which expanded the legal definition of 'employer' to cover companies that substantially control subcontracted workers' conditions. The Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission ruled against Hyundai in September 2026, and the National Labor Relations Commission upheld that Hyundai must recognize bargaining obligations for production, cafeteria, security, and cleaning subcontract workers (though not dealership sales agents). As of mid-August 2026, only 102 of 456 principal companies nationwide that received similar demands had entered negotiations, with many, including Hyundai group affiliates, contesting the rulings through administrative appeals.

A worker was critically injured after being trapped by a forklift at a Coupang logistics warehouse around August 23, 2026. South Korea's labor ministry and police raided the logistics center on September 2, 2026 over the entrapment injury, with criminal charges pursued against warehouse management. The incident followed a pattern of worker-safety complaints raised by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' courier union through August 2026, including multiple heat-related worker collapses at Coupang facilities during the summer.

On August 21, 2026, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) fined Uber €824,990,000 for violating GDPR's prohibition on fully automated decision-making. Between 2018 and 2022, Uber used software to automatically deactivate driver accounts based on suspected fraud or low customer ratings without human review, and failed to adequately inform drivers that automated decision-making was in operation, causing immediate loss of platform income for affected drivers. The investigation stemmed from a complaint by 171 French drivers via human rights group Ligue des droits de l'Homme to French regulator CNIL, coordinated with the Dutch AP under GDPR's one-stop-shop mechanism since Uber's EU headquarters are in the Netherlands. It is the AP's fourth fine against Uber (following fines in 2018, 2023, and 2024); Uber has appealed the decision.

Zomato announced that cumulative National Pension System (NPS) contributions from delivery partners onboarded through its platform crossed Rs 1 crore, with PRAN enrolments surpassing 2 lakh (200,000), under the NPS e-Shramik (Platform Service Partner) model launched in October 2025 with HDFC Pension, PFRDA and KFintech. The program lets gig delivery partners make small, portable retirement contributions across platforms.

On August 15, 2026, Bengaluru delivery workers organized by the Karnataka App-based Workers Union struck against Zomato (and Swiggy) in solidarity with a restaurant boycott threat led by the Bengaluru Hotel and Restaurant Association, which said over 21,000 restaurants could stop accepting orders. Workers and restaurants demanded an end to commissions as high as 30%, transparent payout and deduction systems, and dedicated human support to resolve disputes, calling platform economics exploitative of workers, restaurants, and customers alike.

On August 15, 2026, Bengaluru delivery workers organized by the Karnataka App-based Workers Union struck against Swiggy (and Zomato) in solidarity with a restaurant boycott threat led by the Bengaluru Hotel and Restaurant Association, which said over 21,000 restaurants could stop accepting orders. Workers and restaurants demanded an end to commissions as high as 30%, transparent payout and deduction systems, and dedicated human support to resolve disputes, calling platform economics exploitative of workers, restaurants, and customers alike.

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.

Uber and Lyft sued to block New York City's Local Law 52 of 2026, which would have required the companies to show just cause, give 14 days' advance notice, follow progressive discipline procedures, and allow outside review before deactivating a driver's account -- protections covering roughly 87,000 NYC drivers. On July 21, 2026, US District Judge Gregory H. Woods granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law before its July 28 effective date, ruling Uber and Lyft were likely to succeed on claims that the law violated the Contracts Clause, Due Process Clause, and First Amendment, and finding the law protected 'only a narrow class of drivers' without advancing broader interests.

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.'