"Workers’ union launches campaign demanding inclusion, lower-priced shares as Urban Company prepares for IPO", 3 June 2025

The Gig and Platform Service Workers’ Union (GIPSWU), the first women-led platform-based gig workers union in India, has launched a ‘Worker Ka IPO’ campaign, aiming to mobilise investors, consumers, and workers around Urban Company’s upcoming IPO launch. The campaign, which demands ‘a more sustainable and less precarious model for UC’s growth as a public company,’ calls for the inclusion of UC workers in decision-making processes through a Joint Management Council with elected worker representatives. The union has sent an open letter to the company’s prospective investors with two key demands - representation and participation in management decisions around working conditions and customer relations, and right to be informed about the company’s evaluation and to buy UC’s stocks at a discounted price in the future.

.. the workers wanted the same thing as investors and customers, which is for the company “to continue as an employer, platform, and business.” ..“Every other customer I service complains about the price going up, and workers are facing so much mental pressure and health issues from the way the company is functioning. We know what is important to keep the customers satisfied and keep the workers from leaving – so we should be included in decisions” says Selvi, GIPSWU Southern Region Vice President. ..In tandem with the open letter to the investors, GIPSWU will also be organizing a ‘DryJune’ campaign asking customers to boycott Urban Company in the month of June to show their support. ..Urban Company’s growth has come from exploiting gig workers through unattainable standards, low wages, sporadic bookings, sudden ID blocks, and a lack of safety mechanisms, in an environment that does not offer better job options..