At least 50 riders of Foodpanda went to the main office of the Department of Labor in Manila Wednesday morning to complain about an alleged undue practice being implemented by the popular mobile food delivery service provider.

They were complaining about a new system of Foodpanda that has resulted to lesser income for the affected riders.
“Dati po fixed rate lang kami pero ngayon kasi binago na nila. Per kilometer na po. Hindi katulad dati per batch. (Before we were getting fixed rate but now, they are paying us per kilometer, unlike before when they usually pay us per batch.), said one rider who requested not to be named.
“Kapag batch dati, 65 pesos. Ngayon ginagawa nila kapag mababa yung kilometro bumababa yung rate mo. (Before, we get paid 65 pesos per batch. Now, when you travel less kilometers, your rate becomes lower),” added the same rider.
The riders are hoping Foodpanda would revert to the old system of giving their freelancers flexibility on when they want to make themselves available.
“Nahirapan po kami kapag walang schedule. Freelance po kami tapos bakit ganoon may schedule. Yun ang gusto namin malaman kung matutulungan kami ng DOLE. (We are struggling whenever we are not included in their schedule. We are freelancers so we do not understand why they have to set a schedule. We want to know if DOLE can help us on this,” said another rider who wants to be identified as ‘Christian’.
The riders however assured what they were doing was not a form of protest.
“Hindi po kami nagwewelga. Pinararating lang namin yung hinaing namin. Ininform lang namin ang labor kung ano ang sistema ng Foodpanda para maaksyunan ng DOLE. (We are not protesting. We just want to convey our grievance. We just want to inform them of this system being implemented by Foodpanda so the DOLE can take action),” said another rider.
After being asked by cops to peacefully leave the area, the riders decided to proceed to the Liwasang Bonifacio to continue their activity.