Yesterday morning a group of Food Panda rides gathered in front of the Provincial Hall in protest of recent drastic reductions in delivery fees by the company.
The top ‘captain’ level of riders used to receive 27 baht per delivery within a three kilometres, stated the letter of complaint the protesters brought. However, last week the Food Panda app company reduced this number arbitrarily. and reportedly with no notice. to 23 baht.
On the 23rd August the riders had met at the Food Panda office in JJ Market to hand over a letter of complaint to the management. However, no representative of the company showed up to receive the letter. The drivers have, since then, taken their Food Panda uniforms off as signs of protest against the company and say that they will keep their official Food Panda shirts off until their letter is addressed.
According to a representative of the riders, Thanisorn Lomethini, the lowest tier of riders are now only receiving 17 baht per delivery, which he sees as unjust and doesn’t reflect both the current economic climate and rising oil prices.
Until riders receive fair payment, he said, they will not wear the Food Panda uniform. Over 3,000 registered riders (1,500 regular riders) having pledged to this promise.
Wasan (surname kept from media), a representative of the Riders’ Association of Thailand formally accepted the riders’ letter of complaint yesterday, telling the protesting riders, that the association will work to protect their interests and act as negotiator between the two parties, explaining that the group often acts as mediator between riders outside Bangkok and the various corporations whose headquarters are in the capital city and often hard to reach.
The group then continued to hand a copy of the letter to a member of the Damrongtham District Justice Provision Centre who turned up to provincial hall to receive the letter.
The riders say that they will continue to take their grievances to the public with another protest planned in the near future at Tha Pae Gate.