Foodpanda issues statement over delivery riders’ fees, seeks to correct story

22 March 2022
Foodpanda issues statement over delivery riders’ fees, seeks to correct story

Foodpanda delivery service has issued a statement over reported misunderstandings over their delivery riders’ fees, and what they claim is an incorrect report over a group of riders allegedly being arrested on 21 March.

Foodpanda told Mizzima about the incident:

"We were notified that a group of riders were questioned by the authorities yesterday (21st March) for gathering at the Bo Sein Mhan compound. We have been informed by our riders that all is well now and no one was detained.”

Foodpanda sought to clarify a misunderstanding that was reported in a number of media outlets last week concerning pay and conditions for their delivery riders.

Here is the full statement released by Foodpanda on the reported controversy:

In the last 2 years, amidst a challenging environment, foodpanda remains strongly committed to the Myanmar community so that restaurants can continue to use the platform to keep their businesses running, riders continue to have income and customers can rely on food delivered to them safely. Keeping operations going has been very difficult, as we constantly balance everyone’s needs and an ever-changing environment made complicated by COVID.

This week, it saddens us to see rider unhappiness and some accusations made against foodpanda. Some riders have raised concerns about their pay, rising fuel cost pressure, and a few other issues. While we assure you that we are in constant communications to hear rider feedback and complaints, it is also critical for us to ensure the safety of all riders who simply want to do their jobs to earn money for their families.

This is why we feel it’s important to share some facts today.

Rider Pay and Current Concerns:

As independent freelancers, our riders earn an income based on a fair and transparent fee structure that comprises variables such as the number of shifts they take, the distance they have to deliver, and their performance levels over time. A rider’s income is therefore not ‘fixed’, as all riders receive fair compensation calculated based on the above.

  • While the base delivery pay has been adjusted downwards over the past months in line with the current market rate, currently, a rider can still earn between 550 MMK and 750 MMK for a 1 km delivery distance. And base delivery pays are just one component in a rider’s total earning, in addition to other program benefits and incentives and extra earnings from customer tips.
  • On average, riders receive MMK 300,000 in delivery pay per month; while some top riders bring home more than MMK 600,000 per month. We understand there are hardships in many places and are looking at urgent ways to supplement or increase rider pay as much as possible. But as cause and effect, service disruptions ultimately hurt the business and rider income, that’s why it’s super critical that we resume normal levels of service quickly.
  • Increasing delivery pay: We know that riders are experiencing difficulties due to the increase in commodity prices. In line with foodpanda’s goal towards uplifting the community, we are working on increasing the delivery pay as soon as possible for a certain time period to help alleviate the current plight of panda riders. City managers in the respective cities will soon be notifying this increase.
  • Fuel price hike: Together with the rise in commodity prices, we gathered that riders are experiencing difficulties due to fuel price hike. To help resolve this, we have immediately secured extra funding to roll out fuel price subsidies - respective city managers will be making an announcement on this later on.
  • March 16 deductions: We apologise for a system error that occurred between 7:00am to 7:30am on March 16th. This resulted in a miscalculation of rider fees, reflecting a MMK 200 fee during the 30-minute glitch. This was resolved quickly and rider fees were restored back to the normal rates. Rest assured that any deduction as a result of this incident will be corrected and reimbursed.

Rider Safety

foodpanda has zero tolerance for abusive or unruly behaviors that cause harm to our riders, customers, merchants and partners. Injuring innocent parties simply cannot be allowed - nothing makes this ok and we will have to consider discontinuing a partnership with anyone who hurts their fellow riders.

Our biggest priority now is to continue providing essential food delivery service in Myanmar. We are sorry to our customers for any inconvenience, as we know you rely on us to provide a smooth ordering experience. We are doing our best to resolve the issues, to ensure you can have access to food and grocery deliveries when you need it most.

It is our duty to run a responsible business that takes care of restaurant partners, riders and customers but we can’t do it alone - we need to find common ground for getting back to normal operations, because this is for the good of the community and people’s livelihoods.

foodpanda still holds the belief we’re doing the right thing by staying firm to our commitment here, and we hope to continue being part of Myanmar people’s lives for a long time.

With love,
foodpanda Myanmar

19 March 2022