Several food delivery riders have temporarily halted their work, as they called on the management to increase their fees.
The Foodpanda riders gathered near the Bacolod City Government Center Monday, July 4, to express their dismay that they almost have no take-home income due to the increase in fuel prices.
They said the delivery fee they received ranged from P15 to P21, depending on the distance of each food delivery transaction.
This is not enough, they stressed, adding that their daily income was around P350.
They said that the management has earlier promised to raise the minimum delivery fee to P45.
In a statement, Foodpanda said that the welfare of their delivery partners is “our top concern while we all continue to face the fuel and inflation crisis.”
“We are aware that this crisis affects our partner riders most especially, and we hear their concerns and calls for action loud and clear. In direct response to recent fuel price hikes, Foodpanda Philippines has taken active steps to support our Ka-Panda delivery partners. These include increasing riders’ earnings on deliveries and providing more incentives for accomplishing specific milestones, or quests,” the statements said.
It added, “We have also worked closely with the government to enroll our riders in the national fuel subsidy program, and with our fuel provider partners in offering exclusive discounts to Ka-Pandas. We have been communicating with our Ka-Panda riders these past weeks to answer their questions, and we will continue to be in close touch with them as we navigate these challenges together.”
Foodpanda said they will continue to support their delivery partners in defraying costs.
“We are closely monitoring the rise in costs as a result of global developments. With this, we also wish to note that our partner riders’ earnings also largely depend on order volume which can vary day to day. But we are hopeful that these aforementioned initiatives will provide a much timely boost to riders’ earnings, as we continue to develop more benefits to support them through these challenging times,” the statement said.*