In August foodpanda riders in Hong Kong submitted an open letter directed at the management following a fatal road accident of a fellow rider. In that letter – which is being supported by at least 25 rider unions internationally – they call for safer working conditions and compensations for the colleague’s family. (globalmayday.net) Reaction by the management: Some warm words, little action.
In September foodpanda finally introduced long awaited changes to the distance calculation system, the so called “real distance calculation scheme”. BUT, at the bottom line it resulted in pay cuts. In reaction riders went on strike for longer than 24 hours during the weekend in mid-October. (globalmayday.net) Reaction by the management: Some warm words, little action.
Consequently riders are back in action again and self-organized a second strike in a short period of time. On November 3rd and 4th (Thursday/ Friday) hundreds of riders refused to sell their labour and rallied at different points across Hong Kong instead:
rally in CE | “We want fair pay!”
Riders rally on the streets Nov. 4th
rally in TKW
On Nov 3 & 4, Hong Kong foodpanda riders had a strike of two full days, following the last one on Oct 15 & 16. The main issue is still the pay cut disguised under the new map system. This time, more zones are on strike and the service is shut down on a larger scale and to a greater extent. Riders become more experienced; the picket lines in some zones are performed in a highly organised way.
In the press conferences, riders’ show the unity and expose the lies made by foodpanda’s public relations. A motorcycle march is held at the busiest city centre.
The company still pretends that nothing happened and doesn’t listen to riders’ voice. The struggle will not end until they invite riders to table talk and fulfill the core demand for FAIR PAY and a TRANSPARENT distance system.
labour activist S. on the ground
We have at least 9 ‘delivery zones’ (that’s more than 14 districts in an administrative or commonly-known sense) where the Pandamart and most vendors are shown as ‘temporarily closed’. TST and Central are the busiest zones with the highest order volume. – Tsim Sha Tsui – To Kwa Wan & Hung Hom – Lai Chi Kok & Sham Shui Po – Central & Peak – Shatin – Tai Wai – Yuen Long – Tung Chung – Tsing Yi
In many other zones there are also riders on strike. The strike is everywhere.
The demands are basically the same as last time, with only slight modification, as this time it’s an escalation following FP’s refusal to talk and denial of the issues.
STRIKE DEMANDS
Fair Order fee a. announce the distance fee formula b. increase the distance fee rate and base fee c. Stack orders: should get 100% order fee; should know the payment of each order and reject accordingly
Freedom to decline and redispatch a. No suspension due to low AR (acceptance rate) b. Cancel the 3-redispatch-then-break rule c. The requirement for Quest should be 75% AR
Insurance protection Increase the accident insurance compensation amount & extend the insurance coverage to 1 hour before and after the shift
Vendor waiting time should be shortened a. Shouldn’t assign to riders long before prepared b. Waiting over 5 min should be paid
Set 5 mins time limit for the customer to pick up orders
Pandamart order weight should be limited to 5-6kg; auto-split should be done better
Transparent and fair suspension & termination process: the company should bear the burden of proof
Make the standard of the Proof of Delivery more reasonable
CS (rider support) should be more efficient and helpful
Provide extra fee for bad weather (rainy days, typhoons, very hot weather, etc)
Company must ensure parking places for riders AND cover 2 tickets each month
A foodpanda rider died in an accident on July 26th in the streets of Hong Kong. Some colleagues and family members wrote a joint letter demanding from foodpanda to enhance work injury protection and review work safety risks.
Many unions of the #DeliveryHeroRidersUnited networkalready expressed their support for this initiative. The Riders’ Rights Concern Group (Hong Kong) calls on labour groups and rider unions worldwide to join this effort and sign the open letter by August 16th! The letter will be submitted to foodpanda Hong Kong.
To: foodpanda Hong Kong (Delivery Hero Hong Kong Limited)
We are heartbroken to see our colleague passed away in the accident on 26 July. As some of us work in the same zone, we know the brother was very nice and hardworking. Every day he rushed to work earlier due to recent pay cut by foodpanda, as well as a growing number of parking penalty tickets issued to him during the deliveries.
So, we share the sorrow with his family, and we hope his family can go through the difficult time. What makes us more painful is we know clearly that the same can happen to any of us.
We strive to run under the sun and in the rain just to make our ends meet. But if anything happens, the insurance, with such a low benefit level, won’t be able to support us and our family. Or maybe we won’t even be covered if it’s not during a delivery. Or foodpanda might not tell our families what happens until half a day later.
So what has foodpanda done to protect us in our work? What do we get as we risk our lives every day?
And it’s not only about insurance. We are rushing on the road faster because foodpanda cuts our wage and pushes us to complete more orders. We are working longer hours because foodpanda keeps recruiting more riders, making each of us get fewer orders. Also, foodpanda doesn’t help us with parking places and expenses. These all contribute to the risks in work safety. It’s all related.
Thus, we demand that foodpanda should:
1. account for the accident to the victim’s family, all foodpanda couriers, and the public,
2. raise the benefit level and broaden the coverage of the insurance
3. review all the factors that might lead to risks in work safety, including payment, control, app, etc.,
4. have a meeting with couriers on safety, injury, and insurance issues,
5. communicate with government departments about parking spaces, and cover some parking expenses.
A group of Hong Kong foodpanda riders (July 28th, 2022)
So far endorsed by:
Bangladesh Food Riders’ Union (Bangladesh)
CGT Riders – General Confederation of Labor (Spain)
Coordinadora Intersindical de Riders en Estado Español – CirRiders (Spain)
Corriente Sindical de Izquierdas – CsiRiders (Spain)
Free Workers’ Union (FAU) International Committee (Germany)
GWTUC – Garment Workers’ Trade Union Center (Bangladesh)
Horeca United (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Hsinchu Delivery Industry Union (Taiwan)
Hsinchu Platform Delivery Workers Union (Taiwan)
Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britan (IWGB) Couriers & Logistics Branch (UK)
International Confederation of Labour (ICL) Working Group Asia
IFAT – Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (India)
Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong – Kagulong (Philippines)
Myanmar Foodpanda Riders Union (Myanmar)
National Delivery Union (Taiwan)
Pingtung Platform Delivery Workers Union (Taiwan)
Radical Riders (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Riders Collective/ Vida Austria (Austria)
Riders in Lotta Torino – Deliverance Project (Turin, Italy)
S.V.E.O.D. – Base Union Assembly for Bike and Motorcycle Riders (Athens, Greece)
Taichung Delivery Platform Service Industry Union (Taiwan)
Taoyuan Digital Platform Delivery Workers Union (Taiwan)
TEHİS – Tourism, Leisure and Service Workers’ Union (Turkey)
TWU – Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (Australia)
