India, Jan. 27 -- Thousands of gig workers staged a nationwide strike on Monday to protest alleged unsafe working conditions, arbitrary penalties, and a lack of labour protections.

The Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU), which organised the protest, said approximately 35,000 workers across India did not log into the app, with about 8,000 participating in Delhi. To be sure, the strike involved workers from multiple companies, but consisted mainly of workers from home services platform Urban Company, according to the union.

"One of the reasons we conducted the strike was to make people understand that gig workers do not only do the work of delivering food, but also have occupations such as carpenters, beauticians, and plumber...