MOL warns foodpanda over docking couriers’ pay for late deliveries

Delivery platform Foodpanda could face fines up to NT$100,000 per affected worker for illegally docking couriers’ pay for late deliveries based on unilaterally imposed time limits, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said yesterday.

At multiple recent meetings with local labor officials, the ministry said that such practices by Foodpanda contravene the Delivery Workers’ Rights Protection and Delivery Platform Management Act (外送員權益保障及外送平臺管理法), the ministry said in a statement.

Local labor bureaus can impose fines ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 per affected courier once they determine the validity of the complaints filed by workers, said Wang Hou-wei (王厚偉), director-general of the ministry’s Department of Labor Relations.

A Foodpanda courier rides a scooter in Taipei in an undated photograph.

Photo: Chiu Chiao-jen, Taipei Times

Wang did not disclose how many complaints had been filed with local authorities, citing a lack of complete data, but said that all reported cases involved Foodpanda.

Delivery couriers reported facing pay deductions for exceeding estimated delivery times by as little as one to five minutes, calling the policy “unfair” due to “numerous unforeseen and uncontrollable factors on the road,” Wang said.

When delivery delays occur, platforms should look into the causes and handle them via proper mechanisms instead of making unilateral pay deductions, the ministry said.

“Unlawful practices would absolutely not be tolerated,” it added.

Under the law, which came into force on July 21, platforms must pay riders based on the exact time a delivery takes, using a rate of 1.25 times the minimum wage, and no order can pay less than NT$45.

Earlier yesterday, the National Delivery Industrial Union and two other unions issued a joint statement accusing Foodpanda of “maliciously scapegoating delivery workers for order delays” as a pretext for unlawfully docking their pay.

Separately, the Preparatory Committee for the Taiwan Federation of Delivery Industrial Unions said that couriers frequently encounter delays caused by factors beyond their control.

Such situations include understaffed retail stores, long peak-hour restaurant waits, GPS and system glitches, unreachable customers or incorrect delivery addresses, as well as traffic congestion, road closures and severe weather, it said.

It called on couriers to submit formal complaints to local labor departments if they experience illegal pay deductions.

In response, Emma Kuo (郭昕宜), Foodpanda’s director of public affairs and public relations, told reporters that the platform has never refused to disburse riders’ pay due to delivery delays.

The company only asked delivery couriers to clarify unusually long trips, Kuo said, adding that full pay is disbursed as long as a valid explanation is provided.

Kuo made the remarks yesterday afternoon at a news conference announcing a new commercial partner, reports by local Chinese-language media said.