DOLE urged to act on labor issues raised by food delivery riders
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from both chambers of Congress on Monday urged the Department of Labor and Employment to look into reported incidents of labor abuse experienced by delivery riders of Foodpanda.
First reported by Davao Today, the food delivery app suspended some of its drivers for ten years for planning and joining a protest over significantly reduced pay. Under the country's labor code, a suspension of an employee may not exceed 30 days.
"I call on the DOLE to act immediately on the grievances of our delivery riders who are experiencing harassment by mobile app operators. Every day that they are upset is equivalent to one day that they have no income to take home to their family," Sen. Risa Hontiveros said in Filipino in a statement.
Rep. Ferdinand Gaite (Bayan Muna) for his part said he would "definitely seek a congressional probe" at the House as he called on the DOLE to look into what he said was the "nefarious practice of supposed 'individual contractors' providing delivery services that should by law be considered employees of the company."
Delivery riders and other workers in what has been called the "gig economy" are treated as freelancers and independent contractors.
Gaite asked why planning a protest merits a penalty of suspension and why the suspension is longer than what the law allows.
"What kind of law is Foodpanda following? Do they have their own labor code and bill of rights?" Gaite said in Filipino.
The Davao City protest last week was not the first time that Foodpanda riders protested the company's policies. In November 2020, riders went to the DOLE office in Manila to protest a change in the payment scheme for deliveries.
Determining employer-employee relationships
The Bayan Muna solon added that outside of the suspension, the company was already dodging alleged violations of the Labor Code by treating its riders as freelancers instead of employees.
Philippine jurisprudence in the case of Atok Big Wedge Company, Inc. v. Gison also holds that four conditions must be present to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists.
These are:
- the selection and engagement of the employee;
- the payment of wages;
- the power of dismissal;
- and the employer's power to control the employee's conduct (the 'control test')
"What Foodpanda did to their riders is unjust, it is unfair labor practice. In fact Foodpanda's action of suspending its riders betrayed itself; it revealed the existence of employer-employee relationship," Gaite also said.
"The suspension clearly shows that their riders should be considered as employees and not merely 'freelancers.'"
At its protest, the group of riders accredited by the company called attention to a recent fare adjustment, which they said significantly decreased their earnings to as low as P20.00 per ride.
The protest happened after the riders first questioned how their wages were being calculated and why these were going down.
"Although delivery riders are not considered employees today, they are workers who work and help not only their families but also the economy. As long as the DOLE does not issue guidelines or they do not intervene, nothing will happen,” Hontiveros said in Filipino.
"Failure to act on such grievances is negligence on the part of the government. We cannot just wait while we know that there is possible abuse going on in our workforce, in the midst of a pandemic."
Earlier, the senator also filed Senate Resolution No. 732 calling for a probe into the working conditions of the so-called ‘gig economy’—which includes delivery riders—to address labor issues surrounding the emerging sector.
"Given recent changes in the way people work, perhaps we should make sure our labor laws protect all workers and not just those regularly employed," she said.
"I hope that any worker who sacrifices and takes action for the family regardless of his employment status will be given dignity at work." — with reports from Bella Perez-Rubio and Xave Gregorio
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