Ride-hailing drivers face tough working conditions in Ho Chi Minh City
Competition has become fierce after thousands of factory workers lost their job. Bookings are done via apps, but the companies that control the market force drivers to give up on having days off, creating particularly stressful working conditions.
Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The ride-hailing business has become fiercely competitive in Vietnam, as many laid-off factory workers have taken up the job.
Pham Mi Sen, a motorbike driver and vice chairman of the union of motorbike taxi ride-hailing app drivers in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan District, told VN Express that the number of applicants was so large that ride-hailing companies have had to delay putting new drivers on the road.
Those recruited two months ago, for example, have not yet seen their accounts activated to receive bookings, Sen explained at a conference on digital work platforms two days ago.
For Sen, “A new driver means the rest of us lose some customers and have to compete harder for rides”. He estimates that a driver has to work 50 per cent more to increase their income by 8 per cent.
Working conditions are already hard and the job is exhausting; most drivers work up to 12 hours a day, with no days off, eating quick meals directly on the motorcycle.
Companies have also tightened their rules. “Drivers who receive customer complaints twice, on the app, will be suspended. They will be fired permanently after the third complaint," Sen said.
According to several surveys, a driver earns an average of VND 7 million or US4.84 a month.
About two thirds of the drivers surveyed are married, and 60 per cent are responsible for the well-being of at least two other people. Bad weather, heavy traffic, and the pressure of being on time are a source of great stress.
In addition, drivers are treated as partners in contracts, so they are subject to business taxes, as well as having to share 20 per cent of the earnings with the companies, which can suspend or terminate the partnership with drivers at any time.
In addition, the costs of the motorcycle, telephone and medical insurance are borne by the drivers. Companies often don't even cover accident insurance.
If the ride-booking app is turned off for more than two days, drivers no longer receive requests; this way, Sen noted, companies can “force us to work non-stop."
Do Hai Ha, a member of Fairwork Vietnam, an organisation that monitors digital work platforms, said that about 600,000 drivers joined the riding app business between 2014 and 2019, but the relationships between drivers and companies were not clearly defined, which prevented drivers from demanding proper rights.
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19/07/2023 17:22
