Interviewed by Chris Lau, Marc Stewart and Martha Zhou for CNN, in “‘Really Squeezed’: Why Drivers in the World’s Largest Food Delivery Market are Having Meltdowns,” Oct 18, 2024.
“They are working long hours, really being squeezed,” said Jenny Chan, associate sociology professor at Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. “[And] they will continue to face pressure as [delivery platforms] have to keep the cost low,” she said.
A sluggish economy means people are ordering cheaper meals. That cuts into workers’ earnings because most work on commission, which forces them to work longer hours to maintain their earnings, Chan says.
Chan, of Polytechnic University, said platforms invested heavily at the outset to slash prices to price out competitors. But now that they have achieved their dominance, they’ve begun to shift the cost burden to drivers by cutting their bonuses and pay.
Chan said another problem is that delivery workers are treated as freelancers paid by each trip, rather than getting a monthly salary, which incentivizes them to ignore dangerous road conditions to make as many deliveries as they can.
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