Villanueva: Foodpanda riders’ woes highlight need to protect freelancers

The plight of riders of a food delivery service is a “labor dispute waiting to happen” that could be put to an end when rights of freelance workers are recognized under the law, according to Senator Joel Villanueva.

The chair of the Senate labor committee called on his colleagues to support the Freelancer Protection Act which he endorsed for plenary deliberations in September last year.

With the Covid-19 pandemic altering business landscape and displacing millions of workers, some have turned to freelancing to make ends meet and provide for their families, Villanueva said.

“Ito pong problema ng mga rider ng food delivery service apps ay isang patunay sa matinding pangangailangan natin para sa itaguyod ang Freelancers Protection bill,” he added.

“Abonado na po sila madalas, at minsan nabibiktima pa ng mga fake booking. Kaunting minutong aberya lang sa daan, katakut-takot na insulto at pambabastos ang tinatanggap nila mula sa mga nag-order. Kailangan pong may malinaw na proteksyon ang ating mga freelance workers,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“In its current form, the Labor Code does not recognize the existence of freelance workers,” he lamented.

“Dapat po responsive ang ating mga batas sa mga pagbabago sa mga industriya at trabaho. If there are indeed 1.5 million freelancers, and if we factor in their families, this means there are more than six million Filipinos affected by our action or inaction on this matter, that’s why I’m appealing to our colleagues to see the urgency of this bill,” Villanueva said.

Foodpanda reportedly suspended dozens of its riders for 10 years after they planned to protest the wage policy of the food delivery app. Some of the drivers were reinstated after they told on the leaders of the protest, according to reports.

The post Villanueva: Foodpanda riders’ woes highlight need to protect freelancers first appeared on .

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)