THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has called on the House of Representatives to investigate the working conditions of delivery riders working for online platform-based companies such as Foodpanda, Grab, Angkas, Lalamove, and other region-based providers.

This comes at the heels of the recent controversy involving the company Foodpanda, which reportedly imposed a draconian ten-year suspension on delivery riders who planned to go offline and stage a two-day protest against the application’s compensation policy last July 14 to 15, 2021.

TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza has filed House Resolution (HR) No. 1974, directing the House committee on labor and employment to conduct an investigation on the working conditions of online platform-based delivery riders, as well as to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists between the riders and the online platform.

“We recognize that these online platforms have created thousands of jobs for Filipinos displaced by the recent nation-wide lockdown. But it is the delivery riders and not the online platforms who take the real risks of this exploitative business model – braving the elements amidst constant exposure to air pollution, rain and extreme heat, vehicular accidents, and the threat of contracting COVID-19. Something is wrong with this business model if these workers who have very little discretion in the matter of how their tasks will be undertaken are merely treated as independent contractors,” said Mendoza.

Delivery riders for online-based platforms are considered by their parent companies as “independent contractors” instead of employees – arguing that they simply provide riders a platform to connect with their clients. This means that these riders are not provided the mandatories that are required to be given employees, such as SSS, Pag-IBIG, and PhilHealth coverage, as well as all other benefits that those classified as employees enjoy. TUCP argues that riders do in fact have an employer-employee relationship with the company by virtue of the “control test” in labor relations.

“We believe delivery riders are really employees, as it is their online platforms who have control over the riders. It is the company which decides who to hire, how much riders earn under an algorithmic formula that is not transparent and not made known to the riders, where the riders go, under what terms and conditions, and as we have seen with the recent events in Davao City, who remains employed by the company,” said Mendoza.

“We believe delivery riders are protected by provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, as well as ILO Conventions 87 and 98 which were both ratified by the Philippines. These guarantee our workers’ right to organize, to collectively bargain, and to peaceful concerted activities. What online platforms like Foodpanda has done to their delivery riders is not just unfair, it is preposterous and is clearly an unjust labor practice,” said TUCP Vice-President Luis Corral.

“Furthermore, treating them as mere independent contractors is nothing but a strategy of management to skirt their legal responsibilities under the Labor Code – one of them being their duty to provide standard social protection benefits such as minimum wage, leave credits, maternity leave, vacation leave, sick leave, and rest time. Under their model, the only way that they can earn more is to work longer and longer hours, placing their health at risk,” added Corral.

Last October 2020, a California appeals court upheld a ruling that reclassified drivers for ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft as employees.

Similarly, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court issued a decision last February 2021 that categorized Uber drives as workers – entitling them to social benefits such as minimum wage, paid holidays, and pensions.

“TUCP stands with the delivery riders in Davao, and all over the Philippines who are demanding their rights as workers and as employees to be recognized, upheld, and protected. These delivery riders have helped keep the economy moving even while people were forced to stay at home. We all saw the difference they made as front liners. It is high time that we go to bat for them and give them all the rights they are fully entitled to,” Mendoza added.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco