Mindanaotoday.com | Oro city councilors to meet with Foodpanda, riders over workers’ concerns
By: Franck Dick Rosete
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The city council here has already tackled during their regular session on Monday, February 6 the possible conduct of a committee meeting together with the Foodpanda management in Cagayan de Oro and its delivery riders.
This came after Councilor Malvern Esparcia presented his special report containing various concerns of the delivery riders, who just recently conducted a unity motorcade and silent protest to the company.
Esparcia said the group of delivery riders just wanted the company to reopen their hub in this city in order for them to raise their concerns and have personal responses directly from the Foodpanda management here.
“That’s the only thing they want. At least they can defend themselves if there’s termination, if there’s a complaint. At least there’s someone [they can talk to] and not just a robot, so that they don’t need to go to the app” Esparcia said in vernacular.
Chris Canizares, United Delivery Riders of the Philippines-CDO chapter President, earlier said the Foodpanda hub, situated in Barangay Carmen here, has been closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among their concerns, he said, were related to their daily earnings, healthcare insurance for delivery riders and other internal problems from the company such as glitches in the system – which can affect their daily earnings – and inappropriate suspension and termination.
Councilor Jose Pepe Abbu, Jr. said that majority of the delivery riders’ concerns were corporate prerogative on the part of Foodpanda, in which the local government unit (LGU) cannot impose.
The only thing that the LGU can do, Abbu said, was to help and assist the delivery riders to bring their concerns to the said company.
“Maybe the prayer of the reporter (Esparcia) is that probably we can assist them (delivery riders) in asking the company to perhaps give these benefits and privileges to the delivery riders,” he added.
City council presiding officer Vice Mayor Jocelyn Rodriguez echoed Abbu’s comment, citing the LGU’s function as an overseer. However, she said the city government must provide help if it’s necessary.
“Even if they are under a corporation, for me, because our function is to determine whether they are safe and they are paid fairly,” Rodriguez said.
“Walay kaugalingon nga (They didn’t have their own) place. They will just sit somewhere sa daplin sa kadalanan (on the side of the street). I hope we can look into this matter because it’s not fair,” she added.
Meanwhile, Councilor John Michael Seno expressed his gladness that the said topic was brought up as he also wanted to tackle the concerns of some Kagay-anons pertaining to the “unpleasant behavior” of some of the Foodpanda delivery riders.
“Naka-receive pud ta nga usahay kining mga Foodpandas nato, pag magdeliver sila, naa kay ibayad, muingon sila nga wala koy sukli ana. Na dili nalang lugar suklian? (I also received that some of these Foodpanda [riders], if they deliver, and the [customer] would pay, they would say they didn’t have change. So, we just don’t give the change?), Seno said.
Both Councilors Edgar Cabanlas and Joyleen Mercedes Balaba, on the other hand, commended all of the delivery riders to their dedicated service amid the pandemic.
The issue has been now referred to the committees of public utilities; ways and means; trade and commerce; and labor and employment.
It can be recalled that the United Delivery Riders of the Philippines-CDO chapter, during the union’s public launching at Brgy. Macasandig covered court on Jan. 30, asked some help from the city government pertaining to their concerns to the Foodpanda company.
The Mindanao Today tried to reach out to the management of the Foodpanda here using the contact information provided by Canizares but there was no response on their end.
The said company also has yet to issue a statement in regards to the said issue. (MT)
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