The Foundation for Consumers' Rights Protection has urged the Labour Ministry to issue regulations to support the welfare rights of food delivery drivers, to provide them with insurance against the risk of road accidents.
Narumon Mekborisut, head of the foundation, yesterday said the food delivery service has seen a rising number of orders placed via apps which has led to a substantial growth in jobs for riders employed by domestic and international platforms, such as Grab, Lineman and Foodpanda.
One recent survey by the foundation suggested the Covid-19 pandemic has altered the behaviour of consumers as well as pushing up unemployment, with many of those who lost their jobs opting for alternative employment as food delivery riders.
Hundreds of thousands of such riders have joined the sector since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.
However, current labour protection laws do not adequately cover the rights of freelancers, according to Ms Narumon. One of the main problems has been a failure to properly define the status of food delivery riders and whether they should be considered as employees or business partners of their respective delivery firms.
"The world is evolving fast, but our laws are behind the times. The Labour Ministry should expedite the interpretation of the status of riders to ensure they have rightful access to the welfare they deserve," said Ms Narumon.
The foundation's report also said discrepancies exist as riders for different delivery platforms do not receive equivalent welfare packages or similar numbers of food delivery orders which has a direct bearing on their earnings.
Also, there are no set standards for calculating pay in proportion to the distance rode for each delivery, as each platform sets its own rates, added Ms Narumon.
In addition, the platform operators do not offer welfare or accident insurance with riders often forced to violate traffic laws in a race against time to deliver food and receive full payment.
Ms Narumon said the foundation has urged the Labour Ministry to step in to improve the situation and enforce standard rates and benefits that are applicable across the industry. Also, the ministry must require the platforms to take out insurance for their riders.
"This should at least ease the anxiety of food riders and reduce the risk of road accidents by not expecting them to hurry to deliver orders," she said.
Decha Pruekphathanarak, deputy-director of the Labour Protection and Welfare Department, has previously claimed the bill on informal labour approved by the cabinet last December will solve many of these concerns.
It is currently being vetted by the Council of State, the government's legal arm, and will later be submitted to parliament.
