Food delivery drivers are voicing their discontent as operators of major online food ordering platforms plan to raise delivery fees charged to restaurants.
According to management companies and industry observers, the riders are unhappy with this move because it primarily benefits the platform operators, not them.
Despite the anticipated increase in sales for the operators, the riders face the same harsh working conditions and high demand without seeing any improvement in their earnings.
In fact, one of the largest delivery platforms has even reduced delivery fees for its customers, which has decreased the amount of money available for the drivers.
Rider Union, the country’s first labor union for delivery workers, gathered its members in front of the presidential office in central Seoul on Aug. 22. 추천 Restaurant owners using the country’s major online food delivery platforms like Baemin, Yogiyo and Coupang Eats were also present there.
Together, they demanded that the administration and the government impose stricter regulations on platform operators to prevent riders and restaurant owners from unfairly falling victim to the planned rate hike and other harmful practices threatening the delivery industry ecosystem.
The protest came after Baemin increased the commission rate charged to restaurants earlier this month to 9.8 percent per order from 6.8 percent.
The protesters urged the government to introduce a new policy to monitor and control online platforms and objected to the current environment where the operators are free from such legal guidelines.
They added that without such measures, it’s virtually impossible to express any grievances against major platform operators like Baemin, the biggest platform operator in Korea run by Woowa Brothers, which takes up almost 65 percent of food delivery market shares, in fear of losing customers.