BACOLOD CITY – A group of food delivery riders belonging to a popular online delivery service firm held a protest on Monday, July 4, to express their dismay over their shrinking take-home income due to prohibitive prices of gasoline.
The riders temporarily halted their work and gathered near the Bacolod City Government Center and called on their management to increase their service fees.
According to the riders, the management has earlier promised them to raise the minimum delivery fee to P45.
Currently, the delivery fee that the riders received ranged from P15 to P21, depending on the distance of each food delivery transaction.
However, they stressed that it is not enough, adding that their daily income was around P350.
In a statement, the online delivery firm said the welfare of their delivery partners is their top concern, acknowledging they 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,” the management said.
In direct response to recent fuel price hikes, the delivery firm said that it has taken active steps to support their delivery partners.
These include increasing riders’ earnings on deliveries and providing more incentives for accomplishing specific milestones, or quests, the management said in a statement.
“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 our riders,” the management said.
The management added that they have been communicating with their delivery riders the past few weeks to answer their questions, and they will continue to be in close touch with them as they navigate these challenges together.
The management 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,” it said.
With this, the company also wishes to note that their partner riders’ earnings also largely depend on order volume which can vary day to day.
But they are hopeful that these aforementioned initiatives will provide a much timely boost to the riders’ earnings as they continue to develop more benefits to support them through these challenging times.