As arguments intensify over gig worker wages, safety and working conditions, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has released detailed platform data showing that delivery partners earned an average of ₹102.00 per hour in 2025. The data comes amid a growing national debate around whether gig work offers fair pay and protections, with worker unions, policymakers and netizens questioning earnings stability, long hours and safety risks in app-based delivery jobs.

Detailed Wage Breakdown and Growth

Goyal provided comprehensive earnings data for Zomato delivery partners, revealing significant year-on-year growth in hourly compensation. The earnings per hour (EPH) calculation includes total logged-in time, including periods when delivery partners may be waiting for orders.

Using the 2025 EPH, Goyal estimates that a delivery partner working 10 hours a day for 26 days a month would earn about ₹26,500.00 in gross monthly income. After accounting for fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, estimated at around 20 percent, net earnings would be roughly ₹21,000.00 per month.

Working Patterns and Platform Usage

Goyal clarified that most delivery partners use the platform intermittently rather than as full-time employment. The data reveals flexible working arrangements that allow partners to determine their own schedules and work areas.

"Delivery partners are not assigned shifts or geographies. They determine when to log in and log out, and their area of work in a specific city," Goyal explained. Partners also have the freedom to add or remove desired work areas based on their preferences.

Delivery Speed and Safety Metrics

Addressing concerns around quick commerce and 10-minute delivery promises, Goyal provided data showing that delivery timelines do not translate into pressure on delivery partners to ride faster. He emphasized that delivery partners do not see customer-facing delivery timers or countdowns in the app.

Goyal said average riding speeds across platforms are broadly similar, suggesting that differences between 10-minute and longer delivery timelines are shaped by logistics and store density, not driving behavior. He acknowledged that road safety remains one of the most complex challenges across logistics ecosystems and requires shared responsibility.

Social Security and Benefits

Goyal detailed the comprehensive insurance coverage and benefits provided to delivery partners, with Zomato and Blinkit investing significantly in worker protection and support systems.

Additional benefits include tax-filing support, access to a gig-linked National Pension Scheme, rest days for women partners, and an SOS emergency service. Delivery partners receive 100 percent of customer tips with no deductions, and tips are transferred instantly with Zomato absorbing payment gateway processing costs.

The clarification comes following calls for a gig worker strike that sparked massive discourse on social media around wages of delivery workers, 10-minute delivery pressure, and overall working conditions in the gig economy sector.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal defended the company's 10-minute delivery model amid gig worker protests, claiming that only a small fraction of delivery partners participated in strike-related disruptions. The platforms processed 75.00 lakh orders despite nationwide strike calls from gig worker unions demanding better working conditions and scrapping of quick delivery promises.

Record Performance Despite Strike Calls

Zomato and Blinkit delivered their highest-ever order volumes on December 31, serving over 63.00 lakh customers through more than 4.50 lakh delivery partners. Goyal emphasized that these record deliveries were completed without additional incentives beyond standard New Year's Eve payouts.

Claims About Strike Disruption

Goyal claimed that most delivery partners did not want to participate in the strike, alleging that only a "0.1%" group of miscreants created disruption on New Year's Day. According to him, these individuals were illegally snatching parcels from riders who wished to continue working, assaulting them, and threatening to damage their bikes, prompting local law enforcement intervention.

Goyal alleged that the troublemakers were largely riders previously terminated from the platform for repeated abuse and fraud, including impersonation, food theft, and absconding with customer cash. He suggested these former partners were trying to pressure the company into reinstating them and were "perhaps being supported and instigated by politically motivated individuals" seeking media attention through chaos.

Defense of 10-Minute Delivery Model

Addressing concerns around quick delivery promises, Goyal explained that Blinkit's delivery timelines are driven by store density and system design rather than speed pressure on delivery partners. He clarified that delivery partners do not have visibility into customer-facing delivery timelines on their apps.

Goyal stated that after order placement on Blinkit, items are picked and packed within 2.50 minutes, followed by delivery partners driving an average distance of under 2.00 km in approximately 8.00 minutes at an average speed of 15.00 kmph. He acknowledged why people assume 10-minute delivery involves unsafe driving but argued the reality lies in system design complexity, not speed pressure.

Response to Exploitation Claims

While acknowledging that "no system is perfect," Goyal maintained that the situation is being misrepresented on social media by people who do not understand platform operations. He urged people to speak directly with delivery partners to understand why "millions of Indians voluntarily take up platform work and sometimes even prefer it to regular jobs."

The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) claimed over 2.00 lakh delivery workers participated in protests across platforms, demanding better pay, safer working conditions, transparency in incentives, and access to social security benefits. Platforms maintained that New Year's Eve operations remained largely unaffected, while gig worker unions stated their demands remain unresolved.