TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Delivery Industrial Union on Friday urged the labor ministry to enforce Taiwan's newly implemented delivery driver pay regulations, arguing that delivery platforms have repeatedly broken the rules despite having six months to prepare.
Delivery drivers told Mnews that order volume has declined as platforms raised prices for customers. They said platforms appear to be using the legally required minimum payment of NT$45 (US$1.39) per order as the standard rate while reducing compensation for longer-distance and more complex deliveries, per Liberty Times.
Some drivers said payouts appear to be set at NT$45 regardless of delivery distance, per China Times. According to the labor ministry, the minimum payment per order must equal at least 1.25 times the hourly minimum wage. If the calculated amount falls below NT$45, platforms must instead pay the NT$45 minimum.
Ministry officials said they had invited driver representatives and platform operators to discuss pay calculations, order allocation, and other concerns. The ministry said it had instructed platforms to make immediate improvements and asked them to submit concrete plans to address the issues.
The union criticized the ministry's response, saying it had never asked platforms to postpone repeated cuts to driver pay, per ETtoday. It noted that although platforms were given six months to prepare for the new regulations, the ministry has yet to penalize companies for violations and has instead continued discussions with platform operators.
The union said drivers want the government to enforce the new regulations rather than continue consulting with the platforms.
The TPP also criticized the ministry, saying it had responded to apparent violations by asking drivers to remain patient while platforms resolved the issues, per Storm Media. The party said that platforms were able to implement membership fee increases quickly but had failed to adjust driver pay at the same pace.
The Digital Economy Association Taiwan previously suggested that platforms charge drivers matching fees to offset higher labor costs resulting from the wage increase, per SETN. The association said the delivery industry depends on maintaining a balance among consumers, restaurants, drivers, and platforms, and that increasing benefits for one group could disrupt that balance.
A delivery driver told SETN that such fees could effectively eliminate the wage increase required under the new regulations. The TPP also called on the labor ministry to establish a clear methodology for calculating platform operating costs to prevent companies from shifting additional costs onto drivers, per Liberty Times.
