It might surprise some people
now, but the online food ordering and delivery service Foodpanda began its
operations here in the Philippines a few years ago. Only during the bleak,
shut-in days of the COVID-19 pandemic in early and mid-2020 did the sight of a
pink-uniformed motorcyclist with a heat-retaining box on their back seat become
universal throughout major cities of the country, as more people were forced to
order food online. One might think the business is booming despite rival
platforms appearing, but some riders apparently did not think so. Moreover, the
company got wind of these rider’s plans to protest, and slapped them with suspensions
lasting 10 years.
CNN Philippines reports that freelance delivery drivers of the
Foodpanda service operating in Davao City were suspended by their company last
week, a day before they would hold a three-day “silent protest” against
Foodpanda from July 14 to 16 on account of gradually reduced income per
delivery. The suspended drivers were members of the Davao United Delivery
Riders Association Inc., and their suspensions were for the duration of a
decade, ending only in 2031. DUDRAI co-founder and President Edmund Carillo reported
this development publicly this past Monday, July 19, with Foodpanda issuing a
statement later.
Carillo explained that an initial
30 Foodpanda riders in their association were slapped with suspensions on July
13, when they have yet to finalize plans for their 3-day “no-show” protest.
When the other riders carried out the rally anyway, additional Foodpanda rider
accounts were similarly suspended. The DUDRAI has already aired their
complaints to Foodpanda over decreasing earnings – for P55 per delivery on
average to just over P20 as the pandemic went on – supposedly due to a new distance
traveled-based computation, but Foodpanda has not replied to entreaties nor
publicized the specifics for computing deliveries.
Foodpanda Philippines instead
issued an official statement from their viewpoint later in Monday. They stated
that the Davao City riders’ protest plans were violating their freelance work
agreement and could further disrupt the wider delivery ecosystem. In this
sense, their decision to suspend said riders was difficult but necessary. The
company’s pay structure, while not elaborated, was said to consider distance
and road routes taken to adjust rates, and that riders also gain fringe
benefits from brands partnering with Foodpanda on top of their income, such as
fuel, mobile data and merchandise discounts. Already they have “on-boarded”
replacements for the suspended riders in Davao City, who must now take a
screening process with them for consideration on lifting their suspensions.
Image from Mindanao Daily Mirror
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