App-based ride hailing services will face disruption on February 7 as gig worker unions representing drivers working for Ola, Uber and Rapido have called for a nationwide strike, calling it the ‘All India Breakdown’.
The strike has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), along with other national labour bodies.
Announcing the strike on Saturday, TGPWU said in a post on X, “App-based transport workers across India will observe an All India Breakdown on 7 Feb 26. No minimum fares. No regulation. Endless exploitation.”
The union urged the government to “act now”, saying millions of app-based drivers have been pushed into poverty while the aggregators profit.
Why are the app-based riders striking?
In a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, the TGPWU highlighted what it said were “long-pending and unresolved issues” faced by app-based transport workers across India.
The union said that in the absence of government-regulated fare structures for the riders working for Ola, Uber, Rapido, Porter and other aggregator platforms operating autos, cabs and bike-taxis, the companies unilaterally fix these fares.
This leads to “severe income insecurity, exploitation, and unsustainable working conditions for millions of transport workers”, the union stated in the letter.
What are the transport workers’ demands?
The letter to Union Minister Gadkari mentioned the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, while stating that it mandates regulatory oversight, fare transparency, and protection of driver livelihoods.
Therefore, the union demanded the implementation of these measures, and asked for the immediate notification of minimum base fares by the Central and State Governments for app-based transport services. The TGPWU said these fares must be finalised in consultation with recognised driver and worker unions, in line with the above guidelines.
The union also urged the “strict prohibition on the use of private (non-commercial) vehicles for commercial passenger and goods transport, or alternatively, mandatory conversion of such vehicles into commercial category vehicles.”
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