Handing over a piping hot meal at exactly the time promised, Chinese food delivery driver Zhuang Zhenhua triumphantly tapped his job as complete through the Meituan app — and was immediately fined half of his earnings.
A glitch meant it inaccurately registered him as being late and he incurred an automatic penalty — one of many ways that delivery firms exploit millions of workers even as the sector booms, he said.
Authorities have launched a crackdown tackling algorithms that effectively encourage dangerous driving and demanding that firms ensure basic labor protections, such as proper compensation and insurance.
Photo: AFP
However, more than a dozen drivers said that there has been little change on the ground.
Often the only way to complete orders on time is to “go really fast ... speed through red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road,” Zhuang said.
“At the beginning, [the app allocated] 40 to 50 minutes to complete an order — now for an order within a distance of 2km, with the same distance and time as before, we are given 30 minutes,” he said.
Photo: AFP
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns sent demand for meal delivery services soaring: The sector is worth 664 billion yuan (US$103.77 billion), a China Hospitality Association report said.
The nation’s competitive app-based services have expanded into nearly every aspect of modern life, with digital-savvy consumers used to instantaneous service and fast delivery due to cheap labor.
However, after years of unrestricted growth, China’s Big Tech is coming under fire from Beijing, with Tencent, Didi and Meituan all targeted over anti-monopoly rules.
Authorities have directed the Cyberspace Administration of China to look at how algorithms are used by tech conglomerates.
Shortened delivery times have also caused more accidents, amid promises of swift service.
Globally, the sector is facing scrutiny over its treatment of predominantly freelance workers, who endure low pay, few employee rights and are often hired through agencies to avoid providing benefits.
China’s gig economy accounts for almost one-quarter of its workforce — 200 million people are in “flexible employment,” government data showed.
The plight of food delivery and truck drivers caught public attention after little compensation was offered to the family of one courier who died delivering meals for Alibaba’s Ele.me in Beijing, and a second set himself on fire in a dispute with the firm over pay.
Despite being hailed as an essential service, particularly at the height of the pandemic, drivers earn only 7,700 yuan per month.
Zhuang said that many feel they are putting their lives at risk because of algorithms used by apps to determine the route and travel time allowed before drivers incur a “late delivery” penalty.
“It’s useless to complain,” driver Chen Mingqiang, 50, said.
Meituan, which has more than 628 million users, said that it calculates the time needed for a journey in four ways, allocates the longest from those options and includes a buffer.
The firm said in a statement that such decisions were made “considering rider safety as the first priority, and also to satisfy consumers’ needs,” and that drivers could contest unfair fines.
Last month, after the cyberspace watchdog outlined plans for tighter controls on tech companies, Meituan said that it would optimize its “algorithm strategy” and roll out greater allowances to help couriers avoid dangerous work conditions.
Kendra Schaefer of Beijing-based consultancy Trivium said a lack of transparency on how platforms were coded to determine driver requirements and compensation was a serious issue.
“An algorithm is intended to maximize efficiency. Unfortunately, we’re finding that as society modernizes, algorithms maximize efficiency at the expense of humans,” she said.
“Everybody wants drivers to get treated better, but nobody wants to pay for it,” she added.
The sector relies heavily on migrant workers — who are often low-skilled and have come to cities from rural provinces in the hope of making money.
For many, there are few employment alternatives.
“If I had the choice, I definitely wouldn’t work as a delivery driver,” Zhuang said. “It’s a dangerous job, with high risk.”
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