Over 100 Foodpanda riders gather at Syed Saddiq's house

Some 100 Foodpanda delivery riders turned up at Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s residence in Petaling Jaya tonight to voice their grievances towards the company’s new pay scheme.

Those who joined include representatives from Johor, Penang, Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur.

One rider from Penang, who asked to be identified as Sham, said the company’s management had threatened to sack them if they joined the strike against the new pay scheme.

“If the strike continues, the digital IDs would be terminated, not merely suspended.

“In Penang, there are at least 500 riders who mostly work part-time. Their pay (under the new scheme) is estimated to be half of the old one,” he said.

The delivery riders have been on strike since Sept 30, when the new pay scheme was implemented.

One delivery rider in Johor Bahru told Malaysiakini that they would log into Foodpanda’s system but would not accept orders.

Syed Saddiq told the delivery riders in his speech that he would bring their plight to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attention.

“(Companies) earn millions, but the workers are not taken care of… For big companies that earn big, they should be responsible to their employees.

“There are even riders who received threats. This is clearly against the law. We cannot side with large corporations while workers are exploited.

“That is clearly wrong. I will bring this issue to the prime minister,” Syed Saddiq said, urging Foodpanda to revert to the previous payment scheme.

During the dialogue session at his house, Syed Saddiq (photo, below) said he had also met representatives from Foodpanda’s management this morning.

“I asked if there is a difference in terms of pay, and they said the pay should be better (under the new scheme). I also asked if there had been clear impacts to the riders, and they said they would consider if the welfare of riders is affected,” he said.

Some in the audience shouted “yes”, indicating that they were adversely affected by the new pay scheme.

Under the new scheme, Foodpanda delivery riders outside the Klang Valley would no longer receive an hourly wage, but their payment per delivery would be increased to between RM4.50 and RM7.00.

Previously, they received RM4 per hour, and an additional RM3 to RM5 per delivery they make, depending on their performance.

Foodpanda managing director Sayantan Das said the change would enable delivery riders who wish to earn a higher income by making more deliveries to do so.

In addition, the riders would receive other payments such as an RM100 bonus if they worked more than 60 hours in a week, Sayantan was quoted as saying by Bernama.

However, Oriental Daily reported that the delivery riders complained that they sometimes waited two to three hours without receiving any orders.

“In comparison, the status quo provides a pay of RM4 per hour, providing them with a basic income even if they do not receive any orders,” the Chinese-language daily reported.

- Mkini