A youth rights group Monday called on food businesses to eliminate their Time Definite Delivery (TDD) services to prevent students working as delivery people from risking their lives trying to deliver food or drinks within a time limit.
Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare (TAAYRW) said that according to statistics compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2013 to 2016, traffic accidents that involved youth under 20 years old concentrated on the food and beverage businesses. Young people working part-time delivering food and drinks by motorbike are susceptible to traffic accidents under the pressure of TDD.
The TAAYRW said they had seen three traffic accidents on TV news involving young delivery workers during work in less than two months into this year’s summer vacation. It is evident that delivery by motorbike under the pressure of TDD has higher risks of sustaining occupational injuries, the group added.
Even though several major food chains have eliminated their TDD services, some rising online food delivery platforms have set up ordering app with which customers can set delivery time, the group said. Some food and beverage businesses have even incorporated TDD into their internal norm as a means to fulfill customers’ demands, causing invisible pressure to their delivery staff, the youth rights group said.
To avoid delivery service becoming a life risking service, the TAAYRW urged all businesses to call off all TDD services and negotiate with customers for a reasonable delivery time. The group also urged the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to invite related industries to discuss the issues of eliminating or strictly regulating TDD services, and called on the industries to educate their consumers on the serious safety risks faced by those who deliver under TDD.