Meeting set with ministers in MY following Grab and FoodPanda rider protests

Following a planned protest against alleged earnings cuts for the delivery platform riders, Malaysia's transport minister and HR minister are now planning to meet the representatives of e-hailing and food and delivery associations today, the Star reported. According to the article, Khaizulnizam Mohamad Zuldin, political secretary to the Prime Minister said that the meeting will be held in Putrajaya following the Prime Minister's concerns on the issues faced by the associations.

The meeting comes after reported protests that took place on 5 August, where the delivery riders planned a "blackout" of 24 hour as a strike against delivery platforms such as Grab and FoodPanda. Prior to the protests, posts were circulating on Facebook demanding for better pay on both Grab and Foodpanda's rider groups. Some of the hashtags making the rounds include #Grabsembelihrider which translates to "Grab murders riders", #fpsembelihrider, which translates to "FoodPanda murders riders", #Naikkanfar, which translates to "Raise the fare" and #OffSehari, which translates to "Off for a day". Other delivery riders also expressed their frustrations in the comments section of the posts, where they urged others to band together to boycott both Foodpanda and Grab. 

The whole incident was triggered by a screenshot, now deleted, making its rounds. The screenshot contained information on Grab lowering its fares for riders from RM5 to RM3. In response to the bubbling conversation on social media, Grab told A+M that it issued a formal apology and clarification on its official rider group. Grab clarified that there has been no changes to the minimum fare, and the viral screenshot in June was a technical error on its part. The fares paid to its drivers have also remained the same. Grab also urged people to be careful when getting information from unofficial news outlets.

Social chatter around the issue peaked on 2 August, according to Meltwater statistics from 25 July to 3 August. The top keywords associate with the protest include "rider fees", "earnings", and "apparent fee change". While 62% of the online sentiments were neutral on the issue, 37% were negative. 


Meanwhile, FoodPanda did not want to comment on the matter when asked by A+M. However, FoodPanda isn't a stranger to such strikes with hundreds of riders and couriers going on strike last year as they were unhappy with the company’s choice to decrease delivery fee. The situation was then remedied by the top management having to meet with the couriers a few days after to reach a resolution. Separately, last year, Foodpanda Thailand apologised for disappointing and upsetting any parties due to a comment on its Twitter account, where it said it would fire a rider who had participated in the pro-democracy movement. In a previous Twitter statement, the food delivery company responded to a tweet saying it "will expedite the strict implementation" of the company's rules by immediately dismissing the driver. 

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Foodpanda HK and couriers agree to talk amidst delivery strike for reduced fee