People working with Taiwan’s major food delivery platforms on Tuesday pledged to form a union to demand fair pay and called for legislative action.
At a news conference outside the Ministry of Labor building in Taipei, organizers called on people who work with Foodpanda Taiwan Co (富胖達) and Uber Eats Taiwan to sign up for the proposed National Delivery Industrial Union.
The main purpose of the union is to increase delivery drivers’ leverage in negotiating for fair pay rules with the two platforms, said Su Po-hao (蘇柏豪), the group’s spokesman.
Photo: CNA
Last month, Foodpanda introduced new pay rules, citing better compensation for drivers who dispatch orders with pickups far from their destinations the main reason, said Chen Yu-an (陳昱安), another group member.
A few weeks later, Uber Eats did the same, saying that the new rules would encourage drivers to take orders during peak times, Chen said.
However, service fees were reduced, Su said.
Drivers for Foodpanda in Taichung, as well as Changhua and Nantou counties, faced a pay decrease of 10 to 30 percent last month, while Uber Eats deliverers in Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung saw similar drops, he said.
Drivers usually have no idea how the platforms gauge their service fees, Chen said.
After updating the rules this month, Uber Eats no longer reveals the makeup of a driver’s service fee for each order, he said.
The union would also seek to lobby the ministry and lawmakers to propose legislation for food deliveries and protect drivers’ rights, they said.
The number of food deliverers in Taiwan had increased to 88,000 as of the end of last year, ministry data showed.
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